Gizmodo: farmer

If You Can't Dust Your Crops WIth a Plane, Use a Helicopter

Chris Jacob — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 21:20:00 EDT

When the time came to spread pesticides over his rice field, this farmer faced a choice: lug around a heavy poison-filled backpack in the sweltering heat, or spray the chemicals from an RC helicopter. He made the right decision.

According to the source, crops in Japan are tiny and scattered throughout residential areas. Dusting the crops by plane, therefore, is impossible. Farmers normally tend the crops with pump activated backpack sprayers, but where's the fun in that? Kudos to this guy for figuring out a way to both spray the field and fly an awesome toy around all morning.

If the farmer ever finds himself with any bigger pests to deal with, he should talk to this guy about how to add a little more firepower to the rig. [Japan Probe]

Chinese Farmer Flies Self-Built Airplane, Doesn't Wet Pants

Jason Chen — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 15:20:00 EDT

Seeing as we crapped ourselves twice from just watching this clip, it's a wonder that this Chinese farmer manages to keep it together while flying this death-trap through the skies. The camera only points rearwards at the guy's crotch, but that's probably to show what gigantic balls this guy must have. The guy built this thing out of what looks like dirt and spare parts from broken aircraft, which is pretty much something we wouldn't want to be riding up 300 feet in the air. This reminds us of Mr. Woo, the Chinese Robot Farmer, who built working robots out of stuff he's found at the junk heap. [YouTube via MAKE]

Mr. Woo, the Chinese Robot Farmer

Jason Chen — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 17:20:45 EDT

How can a man with no formal robotic education create funny and awesome robots out of electronic parts he finds in the junk heap? Mr. Woo found a way, and created so many robots his wife has threatened to leave him (partially because he burned the house down in doing so). Among the more impressive ones are an actual working rickshaw robot that takes him and the wife to town (no idea how it's powered), along with a junior rickshaw robot that takes the kid to town as well. [Boing Boing]