Gardening is an activity that’s good for both the mind and body and can be enjoyed by people of all ages. But most people can’t find enough time to look after their vegetable plot or garden, because of their hectic lifestyles. That’s where a new smart garden robot comes in.
Created by Sterling Robotics based in California, Sybil is a small but very capable device with machine learning capabilities. Designed to automatically weed, plant seeds, and care for your garden, the unique robot uses a neural network combined with the true vision to help map out your garden, allowing Sybil to tend for it 24/7.
Sybil comes equipped with LiDAR and two front-mounted cameras, which help it autonomously create internal maps of your garden, identify any potential obstacles like large rocks or pet waste, and avoid them. By default, if no plants are detected in the garden area after the maps are created, Sybil will begin to plant seeds all on its own. Then, all you have to do is place the seeds into the hopper of the bot and take it to your garden. The robot will do the rest with no human intervention.
The smart garden robot can tell the difference between pesky weeds and any crops you have grown in the garden by using machine learning and a neural network trained with more than 140,000 samples. It will ignore any plants that are supposed to be there and drive over the detected weed, cutting down the invading plant. The cutting arm is then retracted to avoid getting tangled or caught on any plants or parts of your garden.
Over time, Sybil learns what spots of the garden need more attention than others, further maximizing battery usage. The machine is solar-powered, and you can leave it outside 24/7, and it is also waterproof.
Sybil is currently a subject of a Kickstarter campaign. A pledge of at least $297 will get you one when and if they reach production. The worldwide shipping is expected to take place sometime around December 2021.
