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Add-On System Offers Precision Application
Spot spray herbicides, nutrients, or fungicides at targeted plants and targeted rates with the XeBee terminal and camera. The after-market system was developed in France as a collaboration between OPTIMA Concept and Carbon Bee.
“Our main focus has been France and Europe, but we hope to install some systems in the U.S. and Australia in 2024,” says Seref Pinar, Carbon Bee. “We installed two systems in Europe in 2023 and plan to install more than 10 in 2024. We also have a lot of interest from Eastern Europe.”
XeBee systems include an in-cab terminal designed for multifunction spray regulation in field crops. The color touchscreen and tablet menu are designed to control up to 256 electric nozzles. Features include smart regulated pressure (SRP), variable rates, section cut-off by GPS, guidance bar, joystick controls, drawbar, steering axle and electronic gauge control, plot recognition, automated boom height, or automated boom ground tracking.
SRP makes it possible to maintain optimal pressure for any flow to modulate the rate and/or manage the size of the drop to control drift and reduce the risk of nozzle clogging. Data collected by the system provides treatment traceability when transferred to the AgroSystem Desktop Application software.
The XeBee camera provides the eyes for the smart system. One is installed every 10 ft. on the boom. It can detect plants, discern them, locate them, and control the spray system to target them. The brain behind the camera is an artificial intelligence (AI) vision engine. It learns weeds, disease, stress, etc. with only a small amount of data. It’s Carbon Bee’s hyperspectral sensor that captures a precise color signature in visible and near-infrared that the AI vision engine uses to discern weeds, estimate biomass, or detect leaf symptoms of stress or disease.
In the case of nitrogen, the combination of technologies can not only map needs but also apply N accordingly in real-time.
“The XeBee system can be adapted to any type or brand of sprayer,” says Pinar. “Initially, we require the use of the Optima Concept monitor, but we hope to be able to integrate the XeBee system with OEM monitors in the near future.”
The current cost of the XeBee system is around $2,800 per boom meter.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, OPTIMA Concept, ZI Les Hallots, 626200 Ruitz, France (ph +33 3 91 801 701, infos@agrosystem.fr; www.agrosystem.fr/en/xebee-details) or Carbon Bee, 161 Avenue de Romans, 26000 Valence, France (ph +33 6 24 95 74 85; contact@xebee.fr; www.carbonbee-agtech.fr).


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2024 - Volume #48, Issue #2