UNIT 04 · PALILI-CLASS · ROBOTIC WEEDER
from Luganda okupalila, to weed by hand. The micro replaces the bend.
A small autonomous crawler that identifies weeds vs crop and removes them mechanically. Zero chemicals. Zero soil compaction. No human bent over for eight hours.
AT A GLANCE
WEIGHT
40 kg
POWER
24V Solar Hybrid
OPERATING TIME
16 hours per charge
CHARGE TIME
4 hours via solar
WEEDING
Mechanical blade · zero chemicals
VISION
Species-level computer vision
THROUGHPUT
Replaces 8 hand-weeders / ha
CHASSIS
Rubber-tracked, low ground pressure
01 / ANATOMY OF THE MACHINE
Solar Panel Roof
Integrated solar charging, no separate station required.
Vision Camera Array
Downward-facing computer vision at species level.
Mechanical Cutting Blade
Removes weeds at the root. No chemicals, no soil disturbance.
Rubber Track System
Low ground pressure, prevents soil compaction.
PALILI Wordmark Plate
Visible on chassis side.
Battery Compartment
Sealed 24V lithium pack.
Onboard Computer
Edge-AI vision processor for real-time weed identification.
Cellular Telemetry
Sends progress reports via WhatsApp.
02 / HOW IT WORKS
An integrated 200W solar panel forms the entire upper deck. No separate dock or charging station is required. The machine charges wherever it parks in the sun.
SPECS
Two downward cameras feed an on-device edge-AI processor trained on African crop and weed species. Identifies and classifies weeds vs crop at species level in under 40 ms per frame.
SPECS
A retracting tungsten-carbide blade cuts each identified weed at the root crown. No herbicide. No soil disturbance beyond the weed itself. Crop seedlings are physically avoided, not chemically tolerated.
SPECS
Twin rubber tracks distribute the 40kg machine across a wide footprint. Ground pressure is far below a human boot, preventing the soil compaction that hand-weeding crews routinely cause.
SPECS
Low-voltage architecture chosen for safety and ease of repair. Two electric track motors give true independent drive with zero-radius turning between vegetable rows.
SPECS
Custom edge-AI accelerator runs the weed-classification model locally. No cloud round-trip is required to make a cut decision. The field works whether the cellular network does or not.
SPECS
Dual-SIM modem reports progress, photographs and exceptions over WhatsApp. SMS fallback when data is unavailable. Onboard buffer holds 30 days of operational logs.
SPECS
Sealed to IP66. Designed for the African wet season: direct rain, mud, and heavy dust. Service hatches use captive bolts, not glue or proprietary clips.
SPECS
Every fastener is metric. Every electrical connector is a sourceable agricultural type. The blade, tracks and battery are explicitly user-serviceable. Workshop intervention is reserved for the computer board.
SPECS
Commands sent in the farmer's own language via WhatsApp. "Weed row 4 to row 12." "Stop." Replies include photos, weed counts and hectares cleared.
SPECS
03 / A DAY IN THE FIELD
STEP 01
Command
Farmer messages PALILI: "Weed row 4 to row 12."
STEP 02
Self-check
Machine self-checks battery, vision and blade.
STEP 03
Enter
Crawls between rows on rubber tracks at walking pace.
STEP 04
Identify
Vision identifies weeds vs crop at species level.
STEP 05
Cut
Cutting blade removes each weed at the root.
STEP 06
Continue
Runs until task complete or battery falls below 15%.
STEP 07
Report
WhatsApp report with weed count, hectares cleared and photos.
04 / SPARE PARTS CATALOG
Designed to be repaired with hand tools and locally available parts. Every machine is engineered for repairability.
PL1-SP-001Cutting blade
Tungsten-carbide blade insert.
PL1-SP-002Track segment
Single rubber track segment.
PL1-SP-003Drive sprocket
Track drive sprocket.
PL1-SP-004Track motor
Single 24V track motor.
PL1-SP-005Vision camera
Downward camera unit.
PL1-SP-006Battery pack
24V 1.6kWh sealed pack.
PL1-SP-007Solar panel
200W structural roof panel.
PL1-SP-008Controller board
Edge-AI processor board.
PL1-SP-009Fastener kit
Metric standard set.
PL1-SP-010Sealing gasket kit
Service-hatch gasket set.
PL1-SP-011Sensor cable harness
Vision + telemetry harness.
PL1-SP-012Blade sharpening tool
Field-use sharpening jig.
05 / TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
06 / ENGINEERING PRINCIPLES
07 / FAQ
08 / ENGAGEMENT