AURA - Maynooth University

We developed and tested a sustainable hot-water weeding system as an alternative to chemical herbicides. Through controlled experiments on common weed species, we found that applying 150 mL of 98 °C water effectively eliminated several major weeds. These results guided the design of a modular, multi-nozzle hot-water weeder built for field robots, featuring a vision system that identifies weed species and applies the optimal water volume for each plant. The final system achieved 86.7% detection accuracy with minimal false positives, offering farmers a reliable, maintainable, and chemical-free approach to precision weed control.