I'd expect either a camera setup to find and kill weeds, or at least a basic weeder that sweeps the soil and avoids the vegetables the bot planted, same as you'd do on an organic farm. Instead what you get is an attachment you have to fiddle with and manually point towards the weeds. It's a toy.
Wouldn't sweeping the soil be the equivalent of tilling? Thought the farm industry was moving to no-till to prevent nutrient run off from water and wind. I know University of Iowa has done a number of studies that show tilling is long-term harmful to the soil composition.
Not at all. It has nothing to do with tilling. We're just talking about mechanical weed control using a rotary hoe or a tine weeder. The job of a tine weeder is to pull out the weeds just as they sprout.
The downsides of tilling happen because you flip the soil at a depth of 25-35cm, which disturbs the micro and macro fauna, and builds a layer of crust that the roots have a hard time penetrating, especially if you till in wet conditions. The issues with erosion are more a result of prolonged exposure of uncovered soil to the elements. You're not going to do any of that in a raised garden bed.
