# 🚀 Introducing AgriBot MK-1: The Future of Autonomous Weed Management

Hello world! I’m **Chanuka**, an NDT undergraduate in Electronics & Telecommunication at the **University of Moratuwa**.

As a student passionate about robotics and embedded systems, I’ve always wanted to build something that solves a real-world problem. That’s why my team and I created the **AgriBot MK-1**—an autonomous agriculture robot designed to revolutionize how we handle weed detection and management.

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### 🌿 The Problem: The High Cost of Manual Weeding

In modern agriculture, weeding is one of the most labor-intensive and expensive tasks. Farmers often rely on heavy chemical usage or manual labor, both of which are unsustainable.

### 🤖 The Solution: AgriBot MK-1

The **AgriBot MK-1** is our answer to these challenges. It’s a smart, autonomous platform designed to navigate farm rows, identify weeds, and manage them with precision.

#### **Key Technical Features:**

*   **Brain:** Powered by **ESP32** and **STM32** microcontrollers for high-speed processing and low power consumption.
    
*   **Vision & Sensing:** We are utilizing **Time-of-Flight (ToF)** sensors for obstacle avoidance and cameras for pattern recognition to identify weeds from crops.
    
*   **Drive System:** Precise movement using **NEMA 17** stepper motors and custom-tuned motor drivers.
    
*   **Custom Electronics:** I’ve designed the core PCBs using **Altium Designer** to ensure a compact and reliable power management system (including our custom 5V regulator circuits).
    

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### 🏆 Road to INCO 2026

I am incredibly proud to announce that the **AgriBot MK-1** has been selected as a **finalist** in the robotics category for the **INCO 2026 exhibition**!

This has been a journey of late nights, PCB troubleshooting, and countless lines of code. Being recognized at such a prestigious level is a huge motivation for our team.

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### 📅 What’s Next?

In the coming weeks, I’ll be posting a series of "Build Logs" here on this blog, covering:

1.  **Hardware Design:** How I designed the custom PCB libraries in Altium.
    
2.  **Logic & Control:** Diving into the ESP32 code and sensor fusion.
    
3.  **The Exhibition:** A behind-the-scenes look at our preparation for INCO 2026.
    

**Stay tuned for updates!** If you're attending INCO 2026, come say hi and see the AgriBot MK-1 in action.