Weeding In Gravel Or Stone Paved Area

When weeding in gravel or stone paved areas the most common method is using a weed burner. This is a skill in itself. The goal is not to completely burn away the weed. It is to damage it to such an extent that it loses its ability to self-regulate. This will force the weed into a state where it uses all its energy reserves and withers away. The same principle is true for the Heibjerg robot. It uses water-based technology to safely kill the weeds.

See more about weed killing, with a burner, on our blog:


Weed burning using a torch

Weed Burning 101

2022-12-15

Weed burning, flame weeding, or torching weeds. Many names, same concept. Using a flame to damage the weeds cells. This is an extremely efficient way of removing weeds from patios or driveways. The goal is to slightly burn the weed for 1-5 seconds. This will cause the weed to deplete all its energy and whither away in a few weeks.

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A weed free stone paved driveway

The Heibjerg Robot

The easiest way to keep weeds away!

The Heibjerg robot is a concept for removing weeds in gravel or stone-paved areas. The technology is still under development. This will however not stop us from presenting some of the key concepts. More detailed data will be available as the development of the robot progresses.

Removing weeds using a robot requires the operation to be autonomous, safe, and efficient. The Heibjerg weeding robot plans on achieving this using a series of integrated sensors and clever behavior.

Heibjerg Weeding Robot

Autonomous

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For a robot to be an assistant in the garden it must work autonomously. Thus doing its job with as little human intervention as possible. One of the challenges for garden robots is navigating complex garden areas. We plan on overcoming this using GPS-based navigation enhanced with optical sensors. Allowing the robot to intelligently cover large areas and avoid obstacles. This means that no wires need to be laid in the ground for the robot to function.

Safety

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A robot that operates on its own should be safe. Safe for the surroundings, the users, and the environment. To eliminate the risk of fires, when burning the weeds, the robot uses water as a heat-transferring medium. Water can contain much more energy than air, therefore the temperature can be reduced to below the ignition point. Water also has the benefit of being eco-friendly. Compared to poison, water has no negative lasting effect.

The robot is equipped with optical sensors detecting weeds. Only on detection is the boiling water applied. This ensures that the robot is not accidentally damaging any equipment or making unnecessary tear on the patio or driveway.

Efficient

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Efficient weed killing is achieved by relentless treatment of the weeds. The robot will scan the area for weeds using optical sensors. Only areas with weeds will be treated. This minimizes the tear on the stones and the energy consumption. The robot will use weather information to optimize the treatment strategy. This ensures efficient weed-killing.

Unlike when using a weed burner the robot never skips a day. Keeping weeds away from your gravel or stone paved areas is its sole job.

Most of the time the robot will be in the charging bay. Here it will monitor the weather conditions and determine if the optimal killing conditions are present. It will scan the area for signs of weeds daily. If any is detected they will be marked for treatment. When optimal conditions are present the robot will apply the treatment to all detected weeds. Keeping the area weed free with minimum tear on the surface.

Robot scan the area for weeds

Robot scan the area for weeds

Robot waits for the optimal time to treat weeds

Robot waits for the optimal time to treat weeds

Robot treats weeds located during scan

Robot treats weeds located during scan

Robot sits idly till it is time to work again

Robot sits idly till it is time to work again

A weed free gravel driveway

The Working Area

Where to use the Heibjerg robot

There are many places in the garden where weeds are a problem. In time we hope to cover them all. For now, the Heibjerg robot is focusing on covering gravel and stone-paved areas such as driveways or patios. Why? They are fairly simple compared to other complex garden structures. Keeping these areas weed-free is a tedious and mundane task. Perfect for a robot!

Gravel with weeds in it

Gravel

Stone and Gravel patio with weeds in it

Patio

Stone paved driveway with weeds

Driveway

A weed free gravel driveway with stone paved areas

The Development

The Heibjerg robot is under development. We are focusing on developing our prototype and validating the market.

We need you!

As we are validating the market, signing up for the newsletter is indicating interest. Every new subscriber helps pave the way for the robot. On our blog, you can also find regular updates about the progress and related topics. If you subscribe to the newsletter you will never miss a blog post.

Contact

If you have any questions you can contact Heibjerg at:

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info@heibjerg.com