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Element · photo pending manufacturer approval
Weeding · Fully autonomous

Element

Aigen · United States

US solar-powered autonomous weeding robot from Aigen (Redmond, WA) that eliminates weeds mechanically with AI-guided ground strikes — no herbicide. The current gen2 platform (launched April 2025) widened its working crops to cotton, soy and sugar beet and runs a mesh-networked robotic "crew"; roughly 50 units were in field trials in North Dakota/Minnesota (Grand Farm) and California (Bowles Farming) through 2025; the 2024 and 2025 preorder rounds sold out in a day, and 2026 orderability is not independently confirmed.

Available in: United States

At a glance

Best for

US row-crop growers (cotton, soy, sugar beet) wanting to cut herbicide spend and pursue organic certification, and willing to run a multi-robot fleet rather than a single machine (Aigen's own example — ~5 robots to cover 160 acres / 65 ha in a season).

Avoid if

You farm outside the US — no EU sales, service network, or CE evidence was found — or you need one machine to cover a large contiguous block today. Aigen's own field partner (Grand Farm) has flagged that a single robot's 20-40 acre seasonal capacity is well under the ~463-acre average US farm.

Not suitable for

EU/Swiss buyers; orchard, vineyard, or livestock operations; farms wanting single-machine coverage of large contiguous acreage without deploying a fleet.

Specifications

Power sourceSolar-electric — onboard solar panel with battery backup (gen2 carries ~50% more solar capacity than gen1); no fuel used
Required tractor powerNot required (self-propelled)
DimensionsNot disclosed
WeightNot disclosed
Min farm sizeNot disclosed
ProductivityIllustrative fleet example from Aigen: ~5 robots to cover 160 acres (65 ha) in a season; a single robot's seasonal capacity is 20-40 acres depending on weed density
Max speedNot disclosed
SensorsOnboard stereo depth-vision cameras and onboard AI (gen2 has 4x the compute of gen1) for row-following and weed identification; mesh network lets robots coordinate as a "crew"
ConnectivityRobot-to-robot mesh network; wireless alerts to a control center and mobile app
Compatible toolsMetal arms with small blades that mechanically strike/hoe weeds between crop rows — no herbicide
Configurations
Element gen2Current generation (launched April 2025) — wider/taller frame adds cotton, soy and sugar beet compatibility; ~50% more solar capacity and 4x the AI compute of gen1

Price & ROI

Price (EUR)≈€44,000 (indicative conversion)
Native price$50,000
Price verified2026-07-18
Business modelBuy — $50,000 per robot (confirmed on TechXplore, quoting Aigen). A working deployment is typically several robots (Aigen's own illustrative example — ~5 robots per 160 acres / 65 ha). 2024/2025 preorder rounds sold out in a day; 2026 orderability not independently confirmed.
Ongoing costNot disclosed — Aigen has not published ongoing service/software costs on its own materials. One third-party business-model summary cites an additional ~$20,000 per-fleet coordination/software fee, but that figure could not be confirmed on any primary or trade-press source, so it is not carried into this field.
MaintenanceNot disclosed
Payback modelElement · Aigen
No manufacturer payback figure is published for this machine. The model below uses only your inputs.
Your farm

Farm figures carry across machines; the per-machine rates reset when you open a different listing.

Your result · per year
Labour saved
Inputs saved
Total saved

Payback = machine price ÷ (labour + input savings per year). Every figure above is yours to change. FX is indicative.

Verified outcomes

Each result is a before-to-after figure with a time horizon and a cited source. Independently-verified results are marked separately from vendor-claimed ones.

Herbicide use for in-season weed controlHerbicide & crop-protectionper season · Aigen product launch — PR Newswire
Zero herbicide — onboard AI vision guides mechanical ground strikes to eliminate weedsVendor-claimedwas: Chemical herbicide spraying (broadcast or spot) for weed management
Zero-herbicide mechanical weeding in Grand Farm (ND) trial deployment — growers avoid herbicide spend and can pursue organic certification / premium pricingIndependently verifiedwas: Herbicide-dependent weed control; herbicide-resistant "superweeds" driving up chemical costs
Fuel use for weeding operationsFuel & energyongoing · Aigen Element gen2 launch — GlobeNewswire
100% solar-powered autonomous operation with battery backup — no fuel consumedVendor-claimedwas: Diesel tractor passes for cultivation/herbicide spraying

EU context

CE markingNo CE marking evidence found — no EU sales or service presence identified (US-only — ND, MN, CA field trials/deployments)
EU Machinery RegulationNot applicable — not placed on the EU market
AI Act relevanceNot applicable — no EU deployment; onboard AI vision for weed detection would likely be limited-risk if the machine were placed on the EU market
CAP subsidyNot applicable — US-only company; no CAP relevance found

Get it

Verified EU dealers
Aigen (direct)Redmond, WA, US
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Evidence

Demo
Demo video on fileManufacturer-hosted · last checked 2026-07-18
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