An artificial intelligence robot is a new high-tech weapon in the battle to root out disease from Dutch tulip fields as they erupt into a riot of springtime color.
The boxy robot — named after a retired employee at the WAM Pennings farm near the Dutch North Sea coast — is a new high-tech weapon in the battle to root out disease from the bulb fields as they erupt into a riot of springtime color.
On a windy spring morning, the robot trundled Tuesday along rows of yellow and red “goudstuk” tulips, checking each plant and, when necessary, killing diseased bulbs to prevent the spread of the tulip-breaking virus.
As part of efforts to tackle the virus, there are 45 robots patrolling tulip fields across the Netherlands as the weather warms up and farmers approach peak season when their bulbs bloom into giant patchworks of color that draws tourists from around the world.
In the past, this was work carried out by human “sickness spotters,” said Allan Visser, a third-generation tulip farmer who is using the robot for the second growing season.
It’s a lot slower than a sports car, rolling on caterpillar tracks through fields at one kilometer per hour (0.6 mph) hunting out the telltale red stripes that form on the leaves of infected flowers.
Theo van der Voort, who gave his name to the robot at WAM Pennings farm, and who retired after 52 years hunting for sick flowers, is impressed.
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The boxy robot — named after a retired employee at the WAM Pennings farm near the Dutch North Sea coast — is a new high-tech weapon in the battle to root out disease from the bulb fields as they erupt into a riot of springtime color.
On a windy spring morning, the robot trundled Tuesday along rows of yellow and red “goudstuk” tulips, checking each plant and, when necessary, killing diseased bulbs to prevent the spread of the tulip-breaking virus.
As part of efforts to tackle the virus, there are 45 robots patrolling tulip fields across the Netherlands as the weather warms up and farmers approach peak season when their bulbs bloom into giant patchworks of color that draws tourists from around the world.
In the past, this was work carried out by human “sickness spotters,” said Allan Visser, a third-generation tulip farmer who is using the robot for the second growing season.
It’s a lot slower than a sports car, rolling on caterpillar tracks through fields at one kilometer per hour (0.6 mph) hunting out the telltale red stripes that form on the leaves of infected flowers.
Theo van der Voort, who gave his name to the robot at WAM Pennings farm, and who retired after 52 years hunting for sick flowers, is impressed.
The original article contains 510 words, the summary contains 215 words. Saved 58%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!