Dr Kioumars Ghamkhar: AgResearch expert on the new Map and Zap technology that kills weeds with AI

New technology using AI and lasers is helping growers to safely tackle weeds without resorting to harmful chemicals.

Map and Zap detects weeds and kills them with a laser - leaving no chemical residue in the soil and not releasing additional carbon.

AgResearch expert Dr Kioumars Ghamkhar says the trials have been successful so far.

"In vineyards, you don't kill all weeds. You want to keep clover, for instance, because it fixes nitrogen and it's good for the soil. That gave us the option to kill other weeds... but clovers were kept alive."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudgin
from News Talks EDB.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
News Talks EDBA. So soon, growers might be harnessing the
power of an artificial intelligence to tackle weeds in their crops.
A prototype called MAP and ZAP is currently being trialed.
It is an AI trained laser weed killing system. How
good does that sound. The MAP and ZAP has been
designed by a group of AGG research scientists and engineers

(00:33):
led by doctor Kmar's Gemka and he's with me now.

Speaker 3 (00:36):
Good morning, Good morning, Francisco.

Speaker 2 (00:39):
Tell me, thank you for being with us. Tell me
about this technology, the MAP and ZAP. How does it work?

Speaker 3 (00:46):
Yeah, it's MAPANZAP is a system that brings together artificial
intelligence AI in a smart way, analyzing images of weeds
and crops in the field and identifying weeds from crops
and from one another at species level, and then leading

(01:08):
the laser system laser system to target those and kill
them with high accuracy.

Speaker 2 (01:13):
How accurate is that?

Speaker 3 (01:15):
Yeah, it's very accurate. At the moment. The kill rate
is that ninety percent. Of course, you still miss a
small amount, but that's the same with chemicals.

Speaker 2 (01:26):
You've been trialing at Clardy Bay Wines in its vineyards.
How's the trial going.

Speaker 3 (01:32):
All the trials are going great and we've been able.
I mean they've been great to allow us to use
their fields to make the system smarter by identifying more
weed species and know what they want. What a good
example of that is get in vindyards. You don't kill
all weeds. You want to keep clover for example, because

(01:55):
it fixes nitrogen. It's good for the soil. So that
gave us the option and unfortunity to kill other weeds
you know, three four other species, but clover is alive.
So it's been great and the progress has been wonderful
in the last twelve months.

Speaker 2 (02:11):
It's good to hear. At the moment the mapen zapp
is attached to a tract or a robot. Is that correct?

Speaker 3 (02:18):
At the moment we're testing it on ag Research's on
mobile robots. Sorry, but it can be attached to any
tractor or any other vehicles. So it's really not depending
on the vehicle. So people who want to buy the system,
they won't have to buy any robot. So it's quite
agnostic of the vehicle and the system that carries it.

Speaker 2 (02:41):
And then one day I know that you're hoping it
could work from a drone in hell environments, Is that right?

Speaker 3 (02:48):
Yes, that's a big it's an ambitious target. But the
fact is that from day one that I thought about
this project, I was thinking, oh, of going on drones.
At the moment, there's no need for that in our
New Zealand setup. That's more for you know, when you
go further to the fields that cannot be you know,

(03:09):
you can't carry the system in those fields. But regardless,
it's too early for drones. We're just doing imaging on drones.
Putting lasers on drones, of course, has its own child.
You want to make. You want to make sure that
people are quite happy about them. But we have thought
of all of that. It just needs more regulation in
the future.

Speaker 2 (03:30):
What are the benefits of technology like.

Speaker 3 (03:31):
This, Well, the benefits are of twofold really. At least
one is sustainability and environment footprint. We're not trying to
eliminate chemicals yet, but what we're trying to do is
to be integrating this system into weed control, making it smarter,
putting less footprint in the environment. So what happens is

(03:54):
that you use your chemicals to get with those big,
big weeds. And then when they regenerate and they reterminate,
sorry and come back, we go and eliminate those weeds
because that's what we do with the take them early
and kill them early. And when you do that two
three seasons, you will dilute the weat seeds in the soil,

(04:15):
which is called seed bank. So that's what we do.
That's number one. But also let's not forget that weeds
are the biggest challenge to the crops yields and productivity.
So more than drought, more than disease. What is causing
crops not to perform are weeds? Why because they're competing
with crops for resources, water, nutrition, and everything else. So

(04:37):
that's really two folds, you know, increase of visire traits,
which is increasing productivity and reducing footprint, so they don't
normally people talk about these things. You think, you know,
it's either productivity or environment. Now in this case it's
both beneficial for both.

Speaker 2 (04:57):
Thank you so much for your time this morning, Doctor
Kuma's game car tell you what I could do with
a bit of map and sap in my bag yard
at the moment taking off. Isn't that fascinating? What they're
doing and what they're able to achieve.

Speaker 1 (05:11):
For more from the Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin, listen
live to news Talks it'd be from nine am Sunday,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio