A series of microprocessors controls the system and each nozzle has its own sensor and solenoid control valve. When the sensors detect a green plant or an area of green plants the microprocessor briefly turns the nozzle on. A central control processor in the spray vehicle communicates to the microprocessors and can be adjusted to alter the sensitivity of the system. This technology reduces total spray and herbicide volume and reduces likelihood of off-target movement and nontarget effects. Researchers are trying to teach optical vision sprayers to detect scattered weeds between the rows of crops planted in wide rows such as cotton.
Shields help prevent the herbicide from moving to the crop.
Crop tolerance is a factor as some herbicides will damage the crop. The next step with these sprayers is to try to teach them to recognize specific plants by searching for specific morphological and foliar reflectance characteristics. Control of specific weeds will be possible if such knowledge can be incorporated into the system. Transgenic Crops Biotechnology can make crops resistant to herbicides to which they are normally sensitive. Such genetically engineered crops are often referred to as transgenic.