Minnesota inventor kills weeds without chemicals

A Minnesota inventor has built a weed-killing machine that uses artificial intelligence, robotics, and steam — no chemicals required.

AI-powered weed killer uses steam, not chemicals

Mark Boysen modified a lawn mower into the device, which uses AI to identify weeds, distinguish them from surrounding plants, and then hit them with a targeted burst of steam.

"We're able to detect weeds with A.I., distinguish the difference between a weed and what's not a weed, and we hit it with a burst of steam, and it kills — just 100% water — and it kills the weed in about 20 minutes," Boysen said.

Boysen has since secured a patent for the invention and submitted it to the Minnesota Cup competition last summer. He also won the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's Green Sustainability Award.

His company, NAWARE, has now developed a smaller version of the machine, which Boysen believes will be more commercially viable for everyday homeowners looking to keep their yards chemical-free.

He asked that the full design of the newer machine not be shown on camera yet, saying it is not ready for its public debut.

How the steam weed killer works

Demonstrations in his yard show that repeated steam applications cause weeds to die off within about 20 minutes.

"These will be dead in about 20 minutes. You smell it — it'll smell like spinach — and that's the weeds cooking. Basically breaking down the cellular structure," Boysen said.

A version of the invention is already operating at a winery in Arizona. Boysen also gave a talk about his sustainability efforts at the Minnesota State Fair.

Before founding NAWARE, Boysen spent 12 years as a product coach, working with a wide range of companies.

"I was teaching companies and enterprises all the way up to Fortune Four, from startups to Fortune [500], and teaching them how to basically build products. And I was like, hey, maybe I got to listen to my own playbook here, and now's the time to develop something," he said.

Neighbor Ryan Finnefrock, who has two young children, said the chemical-free approach matters to him personally.

"I got two young kids, right, a four-year-old and a seven-month-old. So what we do know, there's a lot of products out there that do the job, and they're very effective, but are they the best for kids and stuff? We don't know, right," Finnefrock said. "We know that steam is not going to hurt anything. So that's incredible that he thought of that idea and has grown it."

Boysen said demand for the product is already outpacing what he can deliver.

"We've got more demand than we can keep up with, honestly. It really comes down to how quick can I develop the product out of it," he said.

For more information, visit the Naware website.