Students Build Laser Robot That Zaps Weeds for Farmers

Weeds cost Indian farmers $11 billion every year, and the solutions have always meant choosing between expensive hand labor or toxic chemicals that damage soil and harm workers. Two engineering students just built a third option that uses lasers instead.

Rahul Arepaka and George Mathew started Harvested Robotics in their Hyderabad college hostel in 2023. Their robot, called RAKSHAK, attaches to regular tractors and uses cameras to spot weeds as farmers drive through fields.

Once the cameras identify a weed, high-powered lasers burn it on the spot with five-millimeter accuracy. The crops and soil stay completely untouched.

The problem they're solving is urgent. Indian farmers spend around $180 each time they need to weed their fields, and that happens three or four times per season. Hand weeding is getting harder to staff, and herbicides build up in soil while exposing farmworkers to dangerous chemicals.

RAKSHAK detects 90% of weeds and runs whenever farmers need it, without hiring crews or mixing chemicals. The robot uses the tractor's existing battery, so it fits equipment farmers already own.

The Ripple Effect

The startup just raised $580,000 from investors including Anand Mahindra, chairman of the Mahindra Group. A few hundred farmers have already registered interest, and the company plans to sell through dealerships so farmers can buy or rent the machines.

The founders built everything in-house with a team of 13 people. They've been running field tests to train the system on different crops and weed types across India.

Similar laser weeding robots exist in the United States, but they're built and priced for large American farms. Harvested Robotics designed theirs specifically for Indian agriculture, where farms are smaller and budgets tighter.

The company's goal is to cut weeding costs in half while removing chemicals from fields entirely. For farmers facing rising labor costs and growing concerns about soil health, a robot that solves both problems at once could change the math on how they grow food.

What started in a college hostel could help millions of farmers spend less, protect their land, and keep workers safe from herbicides.