Kineo Earth

Robotics for invasive plant removal and land restoration.

We are building autonomous ground robots to remove invasive species with minimal soil disturbance—starting with riparian ecosystems in the American Southwest.

The problem

Invasive plants damage ecosystems, consume scarce water, and increase wildfire risk. Current removal methods are slow, labor-intensive, and difficult to scale.

What we’re building

Kineo Earth is developing field-deployable robots that navigate difficult terrain, identify invasive plants, and remove them mechanically at the crown or root—reducing the need for chemicals and heavy machinery.

Shortest path demo

Explore a simple shortest-path planner with obstacle avoidance for a one-acre grid. Open the demo.

Current status

Kineo Earth is in early R&D. We are prototyping mechanical removal approaches, modeling force requirements and soil interaction, and exploring pilot projects with land managers and conservation partners.

About

Founded by Skip Sorenson. Background in software systems, automation, and applied engineering, now focused on robotics for real-world environmental problems.