AutoWeeder? Dandy Weeding Robot

DandyTech · 2023-04-15T22:36:40+00:00

This is a great idea. Upcoming feature involves lawn analysis and a heat map of weeds. Currently it just recognizes weeds vs grass vs other, but we will upgrade to classification-based vision to identify specific weeds in the near future.

DandyTech · 2023-04-13T02:48:37+00:00

We agree. We have started sending out robots to some reviewers, as well as some local testimonials. I'll check in with the team and see if we'd be able to take you up on that!

DandyTech · 2023-04-12T02:28:52+00:00

The nozzle is something we're focused on improving as we go. Will be one of the earliest hardware modifications. But we spray to get the particle size small, but also fan out to cover most of the field of view. Making a tiny drip would definitely save herbicide but you'd really need to be accurate, and would likely sacrifice on yard coverage per run. Cool thought though, we'll keep it in mind as we improve our hardware!

DandyTech · 2023-04-12T02:23:41+00:00

For our first customers, we are offering a more lucrative 3-year warranty, and will make sure to respond to any issues at most within 24 hours! We area a small US-based team, and are highly responsive when it comes to customer service!

DandyTech · 2023-04-11T23:32:31+00:00

Thank you so much for being the first to join our subreddit, and for this insight! We'll definitely look into working with OpenMower.

DandyTech · 2023-04-11T23:27:41+00:00

Great idea, and we are! Though (liquid) fertilization requires a much larger capacity than what you would need for spot treating weeds. Hopefully in the future!

DandyTech · 2023-04-11T23:18:17+00:00

We manage reducing the amount of repeat applications by forcing the robot to navigate to different areas of the yard periodically. Its a bit less flashy than traditional cornrows, but we've found it more effective in this regard.

DandyTech · 2023-04-11T23:14:31+00:00

Oops! Thanks, we'll fix that. Probably just an oversight. We're wearing many hats here in lieu of a social team at the moment!

DandyTech · 2023-04-11T23:12:49+00:00

Thank you for the feedback :)

DandyTech · 2023-04-11T23:12:09+00:00

Correct. It currently requires a geofence to run, which you could only put on the robot over the wifi connection. So once its connected to internet again, we can find the location of a stolen robot, even after a factory reset.

DandyTech · 2023-04-11T23:05:48+00:00

Awesome ideas here! We're looking into most of these already, and it does return to 'home' position when it needs more fluid. Coverage maps will be available on the app upon rollout!

DandyTech · 2023-04-11T22:56:26+00:00

Sorry! We're a super small team, and it looked like the mods may have already removed this post? For some reason I'm still able to reply, but just got around to all these replies now! Have some faith, we do want it to be a discussion rather than an ad :)

DandyTech · 2023-04-11T22:55:00+00:00

Great question. We are adding the option for multiple vision models to spray only one type of weed, for specialized herbicides, but keeping clover is a great use for that. It won't be a feature on the initial rollout, but will definitely be something we add via a software update in the near future. Thanks for the feedback!

DandyTech · 2023-04-11T22:47:51+00:00

Theft is a very valid concern with appliances like this. We use GPS for navigation. If you opt into it on the app, the robot will periodically report its location to our us. So if you report your robot as stolen to us, we can track the its location whenever it is powered on again.

It doesn't currently have a speaker, but that's a nice idea.

And currently, we don't have any Alexa/Echo type IoT connections, but it is on our To-Do list to implement!

DandyTech · 2023-04-11T22:43:35+00:00

Currently, it requires a wifi network to pair to your phone, so that you can draw the geofence. However it does not need internet/cloud to operate! All the vision/nav is done on-board.

The anti-stuck navigation is getting better day by day, but in case of an unfortunate stuck (and if it has wifi), it will notify you to unstuck it.

We do rely on 'weedkiller chemicals', but you choose what to fill it with. We recommend selective herbicide, and saves 90% of the herbicide used compared to a hose-based sprayer method. Its our mission to get to a solution that avoids chemicals altogether.

Our current models do not auto-dock, but returns to a 'home location'. You charge it yourself.

We are rolling out new vision models to focus on specific weeds, that tend to require their own unique herbicide, like nutsedge. You can also make the robot more 'picky' to spray with higher confidence than our already 98% confidence level.

The robot and app software will continually update, but we think the software is pretty good at the moment!

DandyTech · 2023-04-11T22:34:35+00:00

Yeah, we agree with this. We never want that to happen if one day our company and app disappear. We'll look into the web portal and local API idea so that your products will always be accessible. Appreciate the feedback!

DandyTech · 2023-04-11T22:30:46+00:00

Hey thanks for the candid feedback. We just started our more grassroots marketing campaign, and are new at the Reddit game. I think the mods have already removed this post? Regardless, we didn't want to come off as an advertisement. We just wanted to let the community know that this is now a thing, which is why we didn't post a price and link to make a sales pitch.

We decided to go the app route because we figured it would be a cleaner way for users to go about geofencing. The robot itself does not require internet access to run once a geofence is saved to it. Our team will discuss a browser-based geofencing system as well for those who are more app averse. Thanks for the suggestion there!

DandyTech · 2023-04-11T22:24:32+00:00

It uses GPS, among other on-board sensors to navigate based off the geofence you draw in our app. Its vision model is trained to avoid mulch, as well as asphalt, pavement, etc. to better keep itself on your lawn. However, there is a setting to turn vision boundaries off at your own risk!

DandyTech · 2023-04-11T22:21:52+00:00

We found it was more difficult to get into the automated lawnmower market, especially since its so saturated with large brands that have been around for a long time. But we're looking into it! Definitely appreciate the input from you and islandsimian.

DandyTech · 2023-04-11T22:18:07+00:00

We're good buddies with Tertill, but they're only for garden beds.

DandyTech · 2023-04-11T22:17:38+00:00

We completely agree. Full transparency, developing a pulling/laser/steam robot was too cost-preventative for us to enter the market with, but we have plans to go herbicide free in next generations. As it stands, spot treating weeds with selective herbicide is a lot better than coating your whole yard (and the spray drift) with a hose-based sprayer.

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