Agricultural technology company Aigen has unveiled its Element gen2 robot for daily weed control.
The company also announced a strategic partnership with Bowles Farming Company, a sixth-generation family farm in California’s Central Valley, that will see robotic crews weeding Bowles’ cotton fields for the 2025 growing season, marking a significant expansion for Aigen into new crop types.
Updated based on more than 10,000 hours of real-world farm experience, Element gen2 features a wider, taller design enabling operation in cotton, soy, and sugar beet fields—expanding Aigen’s addressable fields by millions of acres worldwide while helping farmers increase yields. The solar-powered robots use onboard AI vision to identify and eliminate weeds with precise ground strikes.
“With Element gen2, we’ve applied everything we’ve learned about what farmers actually need in a practical weeding solution,” said Kenny Lee, CEO of Aigen.
“Our robotic crews are now working in real cotton fields, providing a smarter alternative that reduces chemical use while increasing yields. Working with the renowned Bowles Farming Company validates that our robots deliver reliable, cost‑effective weed control for today’s diverse farming operations.”
Improvements to the Element gen2 include: expanded crop compatibility with cotton, soy, and sugar beet fields; 50% more power – enhanced solar panels and battery storage system ensure all-day operation without fuel; faster weed identification and dynamic crew coordination, and new stereo depth perception giving improved accuracy for detecting weeds at various growth stages and more precise weed strikes.
Each Element robot includes all-wheel drive to handle real farm conditions—rain, mud, slopes, and rough terrain—and is built for durability.
“At Bowles, we’re always looking at emerging technologies that have the potential to help us farm more sustainably and efficiently,” said Cannon Michael, president/CEO of Bowles Farming Company.
“Aigen’s autonomous robot crews are a novel approach to managing weeds without relying on traditional chemical tools. We’ve begun working with the Element gen2 units in our Pima cotton fields for the 2025 season, and while it’s still early, we’re looking forward to evaluating their performance as the season progresses. Understanding how these machines perform at scale and under real-world conditions will help us determine their long-term fit in our operation.”
The Element platform robots run 100% on solar power with battery backup, and have an intelligent mesh network allowing robots to communicate as a crew, with no farmer intervention needed.
“Farmers are facing increasing challenges from herbicide-resistant weeds with rising chemical costs and major labor shortages,” Lee said.
“Our robot crews provide a practical alternative that works with nature rather than against it.”
Aigen is now accepting orders for the 2026 growing season. Interested farmers are encouraged to contact the company and secure their robotic crew before availability runs out.
