Did you know farmers protect their crops with Jedi precision?

On May 4th, fans around the world celebrate “Star Wars Day”. In the story of Luke Skywalker - who was a farmer before becoming a Jedi - lasers play a visually striking role. But did you know lasers could also play an important role fighting pests & weeds in agriculture of a future not too far away?

Farmers around the world struggle with yield losses due to insects and weeds. Laser-based monitoring of activity of harmful insects can help farmers to react with the right tools at the optimum time [1]. Prototypes are already demonstrating that lasers can target insect pests in fields [2;3] and storages [4], or can be deployed by robots to identify and control weeds in fields [5].

[1] Real-time monitoring of insects based on laser remote sensing - ScienceDirect
[2] Optical system to detect, surveil, and kill flying insect vectors. | Nature.com
[3] New Laser Zaps Mosquitoes in Slow Motion | National Geographic
[4] Laser Technology for Agriculture 4.0 | Innovations Report
[5] Farm Robot Uses Lasers and Algorithms To Destroy Evil Weed Empires | YouTube