⛈️ Weather apps are all rain and poor

Laser weed removal will launch thousands of “Back in my day… ” stories about how older generations used to work the ground with their hands, pulling up weeds until they couldn’t feel their fingers.

… and sure, Grandpa, that’s great, but we’ll take the lasers.

Agtech startup Carbon Robotics continues to pick up steam with LaserWeeder, its high-tech farming machinery.

What is LaserWeeder?

A weed-obliteration machine that uses proprietary AI and computer vision technology for to-the-millimeter precision thinning of crop fields.

• There are 30 industrial lasers, tracking cameras, and a deep-learning model on board.
• It can kill ~200k weeds per hour.
• Weeding by thermal energy means no damage to plants or disturbance of soil.

For scale, the LaserWeeder is ~3 Shaquille O’Neals wide, ~2 Danny DeVitos long, and ~7 bowling pins tall.

Good luck finding a cooler yardwork hack

The first weeders sold out upon unveiling in 2022 — so far, the freshman class has combined to eliminate 500m+ weeds across 40 different crops.

Why farmers are on board:

• Herbicide-resistant weeds have tormented farmers for decades. Herbicides themselves are also a top cost (~$100/acre each year).
• LaserWeeder takes care of both in the long run, while also helping farms navigate their current labor shortage.
• Theoretically, it also drives chemical-free, no-till farming, which leads to higher yields of healthier, more organic crops.

Investors are on board, too:

• Even as VC trends against robotics, Carbon just raised another $30m. Since launching in 2018, it has raised $67m.
• Per GeekWire, Carbon believes laserweeding could be a $41B market.

What’s next?

Carbon will scale its machines (which reportedly cost between $25k-$50k) as it looks to grow across the US and Canada. As it does so, it will prep for European expansion.

Though, if we may make a suggestion, perhaps a laser whacker for our weed-riddled yards could come first?

Raise your hand if you’ve ever felt personally victimized by a weather app.

OK, now put it down; you need to keep scrolling.

Complaining about the inaccuracy of weather apps is an internet rite of passage, and the topic pops up on social media platforms and news outlets alike.

And it’s not just one weather app we have a beef with; there are 100k+ app store options that keep us guessing, all slightly different:

• AccuWeather gives a minute-by-minute precipitation forecast
• Apple Weather acquired the beloved Dark Sky app in 2020 and incorporates its features
• The Weather Channel is a classic with radar forecasts 24 hours into the future
• Weather Underground offers data from 250k+ local weather stations

While the apps themselves can vary, they’re all working with similar data, most often pulled from sources such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) or the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts.

The data is then interpreted by meteorologists and/or app-specific algorithms before being delivered to users.

So, why are they unreliable?

The best weather apps achieve an accuracy of 80% or higher, according to Forecast Advisor, a site that grades apps.

Some of the problem comes from the complexity of weather: Small changes in the atmosphere’s moisture can have big effects. And geographies with microclimates (think waterfronts, mountains, etc.) are often given one sweeping forecast, making it inaccurate for certain users.

Arguably the biggest issue: our expectations. While we yearn for tech that never errs, that’s just not the case when it comes to weather.

Sorry to rain on your parade.