DEVICE AND METHOD FOR SELECTIVE, MECHANICAL WEED CONTROL WITH RESETTABLE EVIDENCE MOVEMENT OF TOOL ACTUATOR UNITS

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a device and method for selective, mechanical weed control in gardens or agricultural fields, wherein the individually controllable tool actuator units are protected from damage by fixed obstacles randomly located in the working area by a resettable evasive movement. State of the art

[0002] Mechanical weed control is a popular method for managing weed populations in agricultural areas, both in organic and conventional farming. Firstly, chemical herbicides are increasingly being withdrawn from the market due to the revocation or denial of approval. This is due to the risk of unknown long-term effects from the release of these chemicals, particularly their impact on the environment and human health. Secondly, with prolonged use of chemical agents, resistance to certain weeds is increasingly observed. This creates gaps in control that, in conventional farming, can only be addressed through non-chemical methods. In organic farming, chemical weed control is generally prohibited, making mechanical weed management the most widely used method.

[0003] Mechanical weed control distinguishes between broadcast and selective control. Broadcast weed control is carried out without electronic control of the weed control tools, while selective weed control involves activating the tools specifically where weeds are present and deactivating them specifically where crops are located. Consequently, broadcast weed control is only possible in the areas of the field between the crop rows, whereas selective weed control is also possible within the crop rows themselves.

[0004] While a broad market with many suppliers has developed in recent years for area-wide, mechanical weed control between plant rows, especially in combination with camera-guided row control of the machine, selective weed control is still primarily a research topic. Despite high demand, the supply here is essentially limited to a few suppliers who treat the area between plants within the row, again using one or two actuators, in crops with long planting distances within the row. Examples include the Robovator from Kress [NP1] and the RoboCrop from Garford [NP2].

[0005] Weed control systems with manipulator-driven tools or multiple actuators per row, which achieve higher resolution weed control in the field and thus greater selectivity, remain a research topic that is extensively discussed in patent and non-patent literature [NP3]. Milling cutters or grippers are regularly mentioned as possible actuators for weed control, for example by DE102018120756 (A1) and DE102011114901 (A1). Langsenkamp et al. [NP4] have demonstrated the effectiveness of mechanical plungers for weed control. DE102013222776 (A1) and US2018139947 (A1) also use plunger-like tools, with the plunger being moved to the target position by a manipulator. In DE102016224733 (A1), the weeds are further damaged by a fluid which is released under pressure through the piston in the extended state.DE102016217816 (A1) deals with the maintenance of cleanliness of the tine actuators during field use. Strothmann et al. [NP5] propose a system in which tines are arranged in a row behind an imaging sensor and are selectively triggered individually while passing over one or more rows of plants when a weed is detected. This setup offers the advantage of significantly higher resolution and selectivity for weed control in the field compared to systems that operate across the entire area between plants in the row, such as the aforementioned Robovator from Kress [NP1] or RoboCrop from Garford [NP2]. Furthermore, this setup does not require a manipulator or axes for moving the actuators to their operating position in the field.

[0006] The outlined research approaches have not yet been implemented in practical application, as a number of practical requirements, particularly in the areas of stability and area performance, have not yet been satisfactorily resolved.

[0007] WO 2016 / 191825 A1 describes a carrier vehicle that carries a device for weed control. This carrier vehicle travels along a predefined GPS map. Task

[0008] The object of the present invention is to ensure reliable operation of the weed control device, whereby it must not be damaged in particular by undefined solid obstacles, such as stones, located on the operating areas. Solution

[0009] The object of the present invention is achieved by a generic device for selective, mechanical weed control, which comprises a carrier vehicle, at least one sensor unit for detecting weeds, and at least one arrangement of several individually controlled tool actuator units, wherein the actuators are connected to the frame of the carrier vehicle and are driven by it over the area to be treated, and move at least one tool from a rest position to a working position by means of at least partially vertical strokes controlled in synchronization with the sensor unit and the travel path of the carrier vehicle, wherein the tool is moved into the working position at least when the sensor unit has detected at least one weed to be controlled, wholly or partially, at the location of the tool in the field.and furthermore, the individual actuators are mounted to rotate about at least one axis transverse to the direction of travel and lifting, or at least to be displaceable in the direction of travel, and are pre-tensioned in their initial position against at least one energy storage device, so that in the event of an encounter with at least one fixed obstacle, the tool can move away in the working position against the direction of travel, thereby building up a restoring force in the energy storage device, and after passing over the fixed obstacle or after the tool has been returned to its rest position by the actuator, the tool actuator unit springs back to its initial position in the direction of travel by releasing the restoring force in the energy storage device, the actuators being controlled in such a way that the time that individual tools can remain in the working position when encountering an obstacle is limited, so that the carrier vehicle covers a maximum distance of this length during this time.that the tool is always returned to its rest position before reaching a maximum permissible restoring force in the energy storage device. This has the advantage that the installation space required for the evasive movement can be reduced, since a defined maximum evasive movement can be assumed.

[0010] In one embodiment of the device according to the invention, the return of the tools to their rest position before exceeding a maximum deflection distance or a maximum restoring force, as described in the previous paragraph, is achieved by equipping the individual tool actuator units with additional sensors, for example, touch sensors, inductive sensors, or angle sensors. These sensors detect any deflection of the tool against the direction of travel, and upon detection of a certain degree of deflection, the actuator is immediately activated to return the tool to its rest position before the maximum permissible restoring force is reached. This has the advantage that the actuators can travel any length of distance in their working position, provided they do not encounter a fixed obstacle, while still reducing the installation space required for deflection.

[0011] In one embodiment of the device according to the invention, the return of the tools to their rest position described in the penultimate paragraph before exceeding a maximum deflection distance or a maximum restoring force is achieved by defining the control of the actuators such that the tools are only ever permitted to travel a defined maximum distance of the carrier vehicle in the working position. This maximum distance is defined such that even if a fixed obstacle is encountered immediately after reaching the working position, the maximum permissible restoring force is not exceeded before returning to the rest position. This has the advantage that the aforementioned reduction in the installation space required for the deflection movement is possible and no additional sensors are required for this functionality.

[0012] This device, or rather the method encompassing its application for selective, mechanical weed control, is particularly advantageous when randomly distributed obstacles, such as stones, debris, or metal fragments from previous machine operations, cannot be excluded from the working area of ​​the surface to be treated, or when they have not been previously searched for or separated. Especially in the case of very high-resolution weed control, for example, with grid dimensions of 0.5 to 2 cm, which requires very finely designed tools, the effort of searching for or separating the surfaces from stones or similar solids of this size would not be economically feasible as a prerequisite for selective weed control.

[0013] The device or method according to the invention avoids the need to remove solid obstacles and allows for robust and stable continuous use even on surfaces that are unfavorable for other methods.

[0014] Suitable carrier vehicles for the device according to the invention include, for example, autonomous field robots, combinations of manned or unmanned tractors and agricultural implements that can be pulled or carried by the tractor, or manned or unmanned self-propelled agricultural vehicles.

[0015] The at least one sensor unit required for the device according to the invention comprises one or more imaging or non-imaging sensors. Suitable sensors include, in particular, cameras, 3D measuring systems such as light section or time-of-flight sensors, hyperspectral systems, or radar systems. Auxiliary sensors, such as rotary encoders or brightness sensors, may also be included. Furthermore, the sensor unit may include additional aids such as shading, illumination, or mounting devices. The sensor unit also comprises one or more necessary processing units for detecting weeds or weed components in the sensor data. The processing units include conventional components such as a processor, main memory, persistent memory, interfaces, etc., as well as one or more computer programs with instructions that implement the detection of weeds or weed components and other control tasks.For image analysis, GPGPUs (General Purpose Graphics Processing Units) or FPGAs (Field-Programmable Gate Arrays) are particularly suitable, and these can be integrated into the processing unit in single or multiple configurations. Any necessary classifiers or data sets for the detection of weeds or weed components can be stored locally on the processing unit(s) or imported via data interfaces or one or more human-machine interfaces. Furthermore, the sensor unit includes a power supply and electrical or logical interfaces for controlling the individual actuators of the tool actuator assembly, for example, by controlling hydraulic or pneumatic valves, motors, or electrical switches.

[0016] The at least one arrangement of several individually controlled tool actuator units required for the device according to the invention consists of several tool actuator units connected to the sensor unit by a frame and moved by the carrier vehicle over the surface to be machined. The actuators of the tool actuator units perform at least partially vertical lifting movements to move one or more tools from a rest position to a working position. The actuators can be individually controlled by the sensor unit in synchronization with the travel path of the carrier vehicle. Furthermore, the tool actuator units are mounted and pre-tensioned against an energy storage device so that, in the event of the tool striking a solid obstacle, they can perform an evasive movement and then spring back to their initial position.

[0017] Pneumatic or hydraulic cylinders or mechanically or electromechanically driven pistons or linear guides are preferably suitable as actuators in the sense of the device according to the invention.

[0018] Suitable tools for the purposes of the device according to the invention include a variety of different means that can damage the weeds and, for their effectiveness, must be moved from a resting position, which is typically above the growth area of ​​the plants, to a working position, which is typically in the growth or root area of ​​the plants. For example, but not exclusively, these tools can be designed as micro-cultivator tines, small goosefoot shares, ripping hooks, tines with differently shaped ends (e.g., flat, round, pointed, profiled), snappers or grippers, rotating milling heads, or similar devices.

[0019] According to the invention, mechanical springs are preferably used as energy storage devices for resetting the evasive movement, making this functionality feasible for each individual tool actuator unit in a space-saving and cost-effective manner. Alternatively, pneumatic or hydraulic cylinders, each connected to one or more pressure accumulators, are suitable.

[0020] Further advantages of the device according to the invention arise in special embodiments and modifications.

[0021] In one embodiment of the device according to the invention, in which the individually controlled actuators are hydraulic or pneumatic cylinders, the piston rods of these cylinders are equipped with an extension that runs in an additional linear guide. This has the advantage that the actuator tool unit can absorb higher forces transverse to the translational direction of the piston rod, particularly in the direction of travel, and thus higher preloads of the energy storage device for resetting the evasive movement and higher restoring forces are possible.

[0022] In one embodiment of the device according to the invention, in which the individually controlled actuators are hydraulic or pneumatic cylinders, the individual tool actuator units are each provided with at least one further energy storage device that absorbs energy in the translational direction of the piston rod. This energy storage device absorbs the braking energy when the cylinders reach their end positions and releases it again during the subsequent return after the cylinders are pressurized. This results in a higher dynamic of the cycles, which contributes to increasing the resolution of the selectivity of weed control and the area coverage.

[0023] In one embodiment of the device according to the invention, in which the individually controlled actuators are hydraulic or pneumatic cylinders, the piston rods of these cylinders are equipped with an extension that runs in an additional linear guide and includes an anti-rotation device. This enables the use of tools that must run in a rotation-proof manner by means of a cost-effective and space-saving multifunctional guide.

[0024] In one embodiment of the device according to the invention, several weed control units are mounted on the carrier vehicle, each comprising at least one sensor unit for detecting weeds and at least one arrangement of several individually controlled tool actuator units. This enables a higher area coverage rate. Preferably, the weed control units are mounted at intervals that correspond to the spacing between the plant rows.

[0025] It is expressly pointed out that the embodiments of the invention described above can be combined with the subject matter of the main claim, both individually and in any combination with each other, provided that there are no compelling technical obstacles to this.

[0026] Further modifications and embodiments of the method according to the invention can be found in the following element-by-element description and the drawings.

[0027] The device according to the invention will now be described in more detail with reference to some exemplary embodiments. The figures show: Figure 1 : a possible tool actuator unit including energy storage device for the evasive movement and clamp for the pre-tensioning of the same energy storage device in side view, Figure 2 :a possible tool actuator unit with tool in rest position and the same tool actuator unit with tool in working position, each in side view, Figure 3 : Two side views of a possible tool actuator unit with tool in working position including energy storage for the evasive movement, once in the starting position, i.e. before the evasive movement, and once in the evasive position. Figure 4 : the maximum evasive position of a possible tool actuator unit with tool in working position including energy storage for the evasive movement, Figure 5 : a possible single weed control unit, Figure 6 : a possible multi-row device for multi-row, selective mechanical weed control in field use.

[0028] Figure 1The diagram shows a possible tool actuator unit, including a power storage device for the evasive movement and a clamp for pre-tensioning the same power storage device, in a side view. The actuator 1 It is designed here as a pneumatic cylinder. It moves the piston rod. 2, those with a piston rod extension 3 is equipped with the piston rod extension. 3 is achieved through the additional guidance of the translation axis 4, which serves to absorb higher lateral forces, is guided slidably through it. On the piston rod extension 3 is the tool 5 attached. Piston rod 2, Piston rod extension 3 and tool 5 are caused by the actuator 1 in the direction of the arrow 6 Partially shifted vertically. Within the arrangement of several tool actuator units of the weed control unit, the tool actuator unit moves in the direction of travel of the vehicle. 7.At the pivot point 8 The individual tool actuator unit is rotatably mounted here. The energy storage device for the evasive movement. 9 is against an attack 10 fixed and secured by the tensioner 11 Pre-tensioned. Within the additional guide for the translational axis is another energy storage device for absorbing braking energy. 21. This is brought into the working position of the actuator by the stop. 21 It is tense and can release the absorbed energy to accelerate the return movement to the resting position.

[0029] Figure 2 This shows a possible tool actuator unit with the tool in its rest position and the same tool actuator unit with the tool in its working position. The left half of the image shows the tool actuator unit with the tool. 5 in resting position 30 shown in side view. The actuator 1, Here implemented as a pneumatic cylinder, its piston rod2 largely retracted. The connected piston rod extension 3 has followed and the associated tool 5 It is now in its resting position. The tool actuator unit with the tool is shown in the right half of the image. 5 in working position 31 shown in side view. The actuator 1, Here implemented as a pneumatic cylinder, its piston rod 2 largely extended. The connected piston rod extension 3 has followed and the associated tool 5 It is now in working position. The energy storage unit for braking energy absorption. 20 is between attack 21 and additional guidance of the translation axis of the piston rod 4 The stored energy can be released by the energy storage device at the start of the return movement to accelerate the return movement to the rest position.

[0030] Figure 3The image shows two side views of a possible tool actuator unit with the tool in working position, including the energy storage device for the evasive movement. One view shows the unit in its initial position (i.e., before the evasive movement), and the other shows it in the evasive position. The tool actuator unit is shown in its initial position in the left half of the image. 35. The actuator 1, Implemented here as a pneumatic cylinder, the piston rod 2 fully extended. The piston rod extension 3 is through the additional guidance 4 pushed through and the tool 5 In working position. The energy storage device for absorbing braking energy. 20 is due to the attack 21 tense. In the starting position, there is no rotation around the pivot point. 8 This occurs. The energy storage device for the starting position is merely pre-tensioned between the actuator. 1 and / or additional guidance 4 on the one hand and attack 10On the other side. In the right half of the image, the tool actuator unit is in a fallback position. 36. The actuator 1, Implemented here as a pneumatic cylinder, the piston rod 2 fully extended. The piston rod extension 3 is through the additional guidance 4 pushed through and the tool 5 In working position. The energy storage device for absorbing braking energy. 20 is due to the attack 21 tense. In the evasive position, a rotation around the pivot point is possible. 8 This is done. The tool 5 is on a solid obstacle 37 hit, which, in combination with the continued movement of the device, led to the evasive maneuver. The energy storage unit 9 is now against the attack 10 tensioned with a restoring force.

[0031] Figure 4This shows the maximum deflection position of a possible tool actuator unit with the tool in working position, including energy storage for the deflection movement. The actuator 1, Implemented here as a pneumatic cylinder, the piston rod 2 fully extended. The piston rod extension 3 is through the additional guidance 4 pushed through and the tool 5 In working position. The energy storage device for absorbing braking energy. 20 is due to the attack 21 tense. In the evasive position, a rotation around the pivot point is possible. 8 This is done. The tool 5 is on a solid obstacle 37 hit, which in combination with the continued movement of the device in the direction of travel 7 which led to the evasive maneuver. The energy storage 9 is now against the attack 10 with maximum restoring force 40tense. To prevent damage to the device, a forced return is now necessary. 41 The tool is moved into the working position by the actuator, regardless of the processing requirements at the relevant point in the field. The path 43 This corresponds to the maximum distance the vehicle with tool in working position may travel upon encountering an obstacle, starting from the virtual initial position shown here. 42 of the tool to the depicted maximum evasive position. It should be emphasized that the rotation here does not yet create a position sufficient for driving over the obstacle. 37 The required height has been achieved. This will only be possible once the tool has been retrieved. 5 The required rotation angle of the evasive movement, and thus the required installation space, can therefore be achieved through the controlled return movement. 41 be reduced.

[0032] Figure 5This shows an example of a single weed control unit in a top view. It includes a sensor unit. 51, Connection frame for sensor unit and actuator arrangement 53 and an arrangement of several individually controlled tool actuator units 52 encompassing several tool actuator units 54, which through the round beams 55 Each are rotatably mounted and each has at least one energy storage device for the evasive movement 9 The tool actuator units are pre-tensioned. They are arranged in multiple rows, here in two rows, with the tool actuator units of the second row positioned centrally between each pair of units in the first row to increase the selectivity of weed control in the field. The weed control unit is positioned in the direction of travel of the vehicle. 7 moved across the field.

[0033] Figure 6This shows a possible multi-row device for multi-row, selective mechanical weed control in the field. A tractor-implement combination serves as the carrier vehicle. 60. Above each row of plants, at the same distance as the rows of crops. 62 A weed control unit is mounted on the carrier vehicle. The device is positioned in the direction of travel of the carrier vehicle. 7 moved across the field.

[0034] The foregoing embodiments serve only to illustrate the invention. The invention is not limited to the embodiments described above. It will be easy for a person skilled in the art to modify the embodiments in a manner deemed suitable to adapt them to a specific application. Reference symbol list

[0035] 1 Actuator, here pneumatic cylinder 2 Piston rod of the actuator, here pneumatic cylinder 3 Piston rod extension 4 Additional guide translation axis 5 Tool 6 Direction of movement of piston rod, piston rod extension and tool 7 Direction of travel of vehicle 8 Rotating bearing of actuator tool unit 9 Energy storage device for evasive movement, here mechanical spring 10 Stop for energy storage device for evasive movement 11 Pre-tensioner for energy storage device for evasive movement 20 Energy storage device for brake energy absorption 21 Stop for energy storage device for brake energy absorption 30 Tool actuator unit with tool in rest position 31 Tool actuator unit with tool in working position 35 Tool actuator unit including energy storage device for evasive movement in the starting position of the evasive movement 36 Tool actuator unit including energy storage device for evasive movement in the evasive position 37 Fixed obstacle in the working position of the tool 40 Maximum permissible restoring force of the energy storage device 41 Return movement of the tool42 Virtual position of the tool without evasive movement 43 Maximum permissible travel distance with tool in working position when encountering a fixed obstacle 51 Sensor unit 52 Arrangement of several individually controlled tool actuator units 53 Connecting frame for sensor unit and actuator arrangement 54 Tool actuator unit 55 Round carrier for rotatable suspension of the tool actuator unit 60 Carrier vehicle, here tractor-implement combination 61 Weed control units 62 Plant rows of crops Cited non-patent literature

[0036] [NP1] "Robovator, Mechanical Selective Weeding System" https: / / www.kresslandtechnik.eu / de / produkte / robovator.php, accessed on March 9, 2020. [NP2] "Robocrop InRow Weeder", https: / / garford.com / de / robocrop-inrow-weeder / , accessed on March 9, 2020. [NP3] DC Slaughter, DK Giles, and D. Downey. "Autonomous robotic weed control systems: A review." Computers and electronics in agriculture, 61(1):63-78, 2008. [NP4] Frederik Langsenkamp, ​​Fabian Sellmann, Maik Kohlbrecher, Arnd Kielhorn, Wolfram Strothmann, Andreas Michaels, Amo Ruckelshausen, and Dieter Trautz. Tube Stamp for mechanical intra-row individual Plant Weed Control, 2014, https: / / www.hsosnabrueck. de / fileadmin / HSOS / Homepages / COALA / Veroeffentlichungen / 2014-CIGR_2014 Tube _Stamp_for_mechanical_intrarow_individual Plant Weed_Control.pdf , accessed on March 9, 2020.[NP5] Wolfram Strothmann, Arno Ruckelshausen, Joachim Hertzberg, Christian Scholz, Frederik Langsenkamp, ​​Plant classification with In-Field-Labeling for crop / weed discrimination using spectral features and 3D surface features from a multi-wavelength laser line profile system, Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, Volume 134, March 2017, Pages 79-93, ISSN 0168-1699, http: / / dx.doi.org / 10.1016 / i.compag.2017.01.003 . . Cited patent literature

[0037] DE102013222776 (A1) - Device, system and method for damaging a weed DE102016224733 (A1) - Weed damage device DE102016217816 (A1) - Weed damage device with cleaning function DE102018120756 (A1) - Mobile analysis and processing device, method and carrier system DE102011114901 (A1) - Device for the mechanical removal of plants, especially weeds US2018139947 (A1) - Weed control device

Claims

1. A device for selective, mechanical weed control consisting of a carrier vehicle (60), of at least one sensor unit for detecting weeds (51) and at least one arrangement of several individually controlled actuators (52), which are connected to the frame of the carrier vehicle (60) and are moved by it over the surface to be processed and, by means of at least partially vertical strokes controlled in synchronization with the sensor unit (51) and the travel path of the carrier vehicle (7), move at least one tool (5) from a rest position (30) into a working position (31), wherein the tool (5) is moved into the working position (31) at least when the sensor unit (51) has detected, either fully or partially, at least one weed to be controlled at the location in the field where the tool (5) is located, wherein the individual actuators (1) are mounted so as to be rotatable about at least one axis transverse to the direction of travel and the direction of stroke, or are mounted so as to be displaceable at least in the direction of travel, and are pretensioned in their starting position (35) against at least one energy storage device (9) in each case, so that the tool (5), in the event of contact with at least one fixed obstacle (37) in the working position (31), can swerve in the opposite direction to the direction of travel (7), thereby building up a restoring force in the energy storage device (9) and, after passing over the fixed obstacle (37) or after the tool (5) has been returned to the rest position (30) by the actuator (1), the tool actuator unit snaps back into its starting position in the direction of travel by releasing the restoring force in the energy storage device (9), characterized in that the actuators are controlled in such a way that the time for which individual tools (5) can be in the working position (31) when contacting a fixed obstacle (37) is limited, so that the carrier vehicle (60) covers, within this time, at most such a travel path (43) that the tool (5) is always returned to its rest position (30) before reaching a maximum permissible restoring force (40) in the energy storage device (5).

2. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the control of the actuators is defined in such a way that the tools (5) may only ever travel a defined maximum travel path of the carrier vehicle (60) in the working position (31), wherein this maximum travel path is defined in such a way that, even if a fixed obstacle (37) is contacted immediately after reaching the working position (31), the maximum permissible restoring force (40) is not exceeded before returning to the rest position (30).

3. The device according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the individual tool actuator units are equipped with additional sensors which detect an evasive movement of the tool (5) against the direction of travel and, when a certain degree of evasive movement is detected, the actuator (1) is activated directly in order to bring the tool (5) into its rest position (30) before the maximum permissible restoring force (40) is reached.

4. The device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least one energy storage device for the evasive movement (9) of the individual tool actuator units is at least one mechanical spring.

5. The device according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the at least one energy storage device for the evasive movement (9) of the individual tool actuator units is at least one pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder with at least one coupled pressure accumulator unit.

6. The device according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the at least one energy storage device for the evasive movement (9) of the individual tool actuator units is at least one electromechanical actuator.

7. The device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the individually controlled actuators (1) are mechanically or electromechanically driven stamps.

8. The device according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the individually controlled actuators (1) are hydraulic or pneumatic cylinders.

9. The device according to claim 8, characterized in that the individually controlled actuators (1) are hydraulic or pneumatic cylinders, in which the piston rod (2) has an additional extension (3) and an additional guide along the translation axis (4), which is connected to the individual actuator (1) and also follows the evasive movement.

10. The device according to claim 9, characterized in that the additional guide along the translation axis (4) also has an anti-rotation device for the piston rod (2) including the piston rod extension (3).

11. The device according to claim 9, characterized in that the piston rod (2) is furthermore connected to a stop (21) which, in at least one end position of the actuator (1), presses against at least one further energy storage device for absorbing braking energy (20) and releases the braking energy as additional acceleration energy in when the direction of movement is reversed.

12. The device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the carrier vehicle is an autonomous field robot.

13. The device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the carrier vehicle is a combination of a tractor and an implement (60).

14. The device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the carrier vehicle is an agricultural self-propelled vehicle.

15. The device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that several weed control units (61) are mounted on the carrier vehicle (60), each comprising at least one sensor unit for detecting weeds (51) and at least one arrangement of several individually controlled tool actuator units (52).

16. A method for weed control using a device for selective mechanical weed control according to one of the preceding claims.

17. A method for weed control according to claim 16, characterized in that the weed control units (61) are each mounted transversely to the direction of travel of the carrier vehicle (7) at the same distances as the distances between the planting rows in the field (62) and in each case one weed control unit (61) is located above a respective planting row during operation.

18. A computer program configured to control a device according to any one of claims 1 to 15.

19. A machine-readable storage medium on which a computer program according to claim 18 is stored.