Tricrobotics fields tractor-scale autonomous robots that treat strawberry crops overnight with targeted UV-C light to disrupt pathogen and pest DNA, paired with bug vacuums for a fully chemical-free service model that keeps units on-farm season-long.
autonomous robot driving through the field at night. no chemicals. no pesticides. just UV light killing pathogens and pests while everyone sleeps. this is @tricrobotics.
this is what chemical-free pest control looks like at scale.
A $5.5M seed round closed in 2025 supports plans to grow the fleet from nine units toward 40-50, expanding from current Central Coast deployments into Oxnard and Watsonville.
No details confirm how the system performs on other crops or exact chemical-reduction metrics, leaving scalability outside current California strawberry fields unmeasured.
Positive users praise the autonomous UV robot for chemical-free pest control as cool, futuristic, and hopeful, while negative users criticize it for using radiation or react with hostility.
ok this is catching on.
follow @ReservoirFarms for more on the future of farming.
@bernsteind @tricrobotics Even better, strips of wildflowers planted throughout crop fields reduces the need for spraying pesticides by slashing "pest numbers in crops & even increase yields" https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jan/31/stripes-of-wildflowers-across-farm-fields-could-cut-pesticide-spraying?CMP=share_btn_tw
@bernsteind @tricrobotics How does additional UV light exposure during night cycles impact the growth and behavior of the plants themselves? Cuz to do a reasonable job, you kinda gotta cook the plants a little, and plants calculate starch demand to sustain metabolic function adequately until sunrise.
Cette vidéo est un véritable cauchemar éveillé pour l'écologiste décroissant.
Un robot qui traque la nuit les pathogènes et les nuisibles à la lumière ultraviolette, sans un gramme de produit chimique, ce n'est pas un gadget... De quoi faire s'effondrer toute la théologie écologiste. Ici, c'est bien l'entrepreneur et le marché qui offrent une solution réellement efficace aux défis environnementaux.
Pas de contrainte, pas de retour en arrière et pas de renoncement. L'entrepreneur résout le problème en créant de l'abondance là où l'on nous promettait la pénurie. Le rôle du progrès a toujours été celui-là : produire de l'abondance à partir de la rareté naturelle avec comme moyen ultime l'ingéniosité humaine.
Reste alors une question : si la technologie résout réellement les problèmes que l'écologisme prétend combattre, pourquoi l'écologisme la déteste-t-il à ce point ?
Tout simplement parce que ce qu'il veut, ce n'est pas une nature préservée, c'est une société administrée, dont il serait aux manettes. Comme toutes les autres idéologies constructivistes, socialistes et collectivistes, ce qui importe vraiment à l'écologiste ce n'est pas de résoudre les défis de son temps, c'est de régner sur les hommes de son temps.
Le héros sera toujours l'entrepreneur, jamais celui qui le déteste.
autonomous robot driving through the field at night. no chemicals. no pesticides. just UV light killing pathogens and pests while everyone sleeps. this is @tricrobotics.
this is what chemical-free pest control looks like at scale.
@UlrichFY
@UlrichFY @Birdimol “ce qui importe vraiment à l'écologiste ce n'est pas de résoudre les défis de son temps, c'est de régner sur les hommes de son temps.”
Vous avez tout dit 🙌
@bernsteind @tricrobotics UV light doesn't kill bugs at night.
Also you would need to expose plants over a prolonged periods up from 1 minute to 30 minutes to kill pathogens.
@bernsteind @tricrobotics Okay but really just an honest question how many rabbits and how many squirrels and how many innocent animals and butterflies and ladybugs things that are vital to our world is this killing? I'm not a farmer so I'm just asking an honest question.
@InkFromAStone @tricrobotics @tricrobotics
Yes, the concern is reasonable—plants manage starch reserves overnight for dawn. But this approach uses short, low-dose UV-C (~250 J/m², brief nightly or twice-weekly passes) specifically timed for darkness.
Peer-reviewed work (USDA, Cornell, Cal Poly Strawberry Center) on strawberries shows no phytotoxicity: photosynthesis, chlorophyll, pollen viability, and fruit quality remain unaffected. The post-treatment dark period stops pathogen/pest DNA repair while plants handle the dose fine. No meaningful disruption to circadian or metabolic timing at these levels.
Field results: effective mite/mildew/mold control, major chemical reduction, healthier crops. Trade-off appears favorable for this use case.
UV-C light damages DNA of targeted pathogens (mildew, mold) & pests (spider mites), stopping replication. Robots apply it at night straight to the crop canopy.
Friendly critters: Most pollinators (bees) are inactive then. Direct exposure can hit some insects/microbes, but it's far more precise than broad chemical sprays that wipe out beneficials + leave residues. No persistence, supports IPM, and cuts overall pesticide use—net positive for ecosystems. They also add bug vacuums.
Research shows it's effective & plant-safe. Solid step forward.
@bernsteind @tricrobotics @grok how much does one of these machines cost and how many acres per hour can it do ?
L'écologie politique est une pastèque : verte à l'extérieur, rouge à l'intérieur. L'objectif est l'asservissement des peuples. La planète est un pretexte. L'écologie "vraie" salue le progrès car on fait mieux avec moins de ressources et moins d'impact long-terme. Merci pour ce post.
@bernsteind @tricrobotics Another job stolen by robots. Sorry to all the Jam boys out there :(
@bernsteind @tricrobotics Hope it does not kill certain bacteria, viruses and insects that support crop growth. These organisms are key to sustainable agriculture through biofertilization, biological pest control, pollination, stress tolerance, and reduce reliance on synthetic fertilizers
@bernsteind @tricrobotics If you believe UV light does anything when they get sun all day, you're a fucking retard actually.
there are more pesticides produced by the plant naturally than there is sprayed onto the plant by several orders of magnitude. The average vegetable in the grocery store contains 60 known carcinogens as per Dr. Bruce Ames of Cal Berkeley. The less plants you eat the healthier you will be.
@bernsteind @tricrobotics Its does help with that but it does nothing for the brix / nutrient density of those poor, soulless, Monsanto fed, splooge filled shells. Designed to perfectly represent the creations which we were programmed to appreciate by kindergarten food pyramid art charts in the lunch line
@bernsteind @meep_meep_speed @tricrobotics How does the family farm compete with this? Are there companies that offer to use this equipment on their fields❤️🥺. Smaller versions they can buy? I am all for progress i just do not want to lose a way of life for many.
@bernsteind @tricrobotics They use UV to disinfect public buses and hospital operating rooms. Would have been so easy to put lights in entry ways to schools, stores, etc, but hand sanitizer profit won the prize.
