Our first iteration was a self propelled, autonomous robot which could be driven by an operator using a simple console, but it missed the mark. As we engaged with innovative and experienced growers, they expressed a preference for a tractor mounted solution. So, we redesigned it.

We’ve been so fortunate to have leading growers in Santa Maria and Salinas, California allow us to take an unproven and ‘quite different’ machine into the field day after day which has allowed us to work on continuous improvements. Our first tractor mounted robot was adopted by Rancho Laguna in May 2024.

Since that first day we’ve added all sorts of improvements and innovations, an optional hydraulic generator, upgrading to more powerful 3D arm motors, refining cutting blade designs, iterating all aspects of the machine, and all the while collecting more and more data to refine our machine learning models.

We put our machine into tomatoes, and within days achieved weeding performance that piqued the interest of tomato growers. A couple of weeks later we developed a long blade driven by two arms for reaching under the tomato canopy when the plants grew bigger. We love new challenges.

Through spending time in the deserts in Arizona we’ve learned that not all conditions are conducive to mechanical weeding, with blades in the ground … so we’ve partnering with forward thinking growers for a unique approach to leveraging our 3D arms, to kill weeds without disturbing the soil. This is going to be a game changer!

We are working on a few new ideas that are a little bit crazy, but could end up more than a little bit useful. If you’ve got ideas for us, want to work with us, or just want to learn more about SeedSpider, please don’t hesitate to reach out.