Aigro UP vs WEAI
Two weeding machines, one verified table. Every figure below is sourced and dated; vendor claims are labelled and kept apart from independent results.
Compact Dutch autonomous robot for orchards, vineyards and tree nurseries — mows, hoes and harrows between and under tree rows. Camera-based row recognition does the in-row navigation (GPS only switches rows/fields), so it keeps working under thick foliage where GNSS robots struggle. Swappable dual 48V batteries change over in about a minute for near-continuous operation; commercial rollout in the Netherlands runs through importer Mechan.
Best for: Fruit growers and tree nurseries in the Benelux wanting a light, affordable (~€45k) electric robot for continuous mowing and mechanical weed control under canopy.Swedish battery-electric weeding robot purpose-built for onion beds (and extending to carrots and beetroot) — AI vision plus GPS-RTK guide finger weeders that pull up to five weeds per second per unit across 5–8 rows on beds 1.50–3.20 m wide. The ~1,500–1,700 kg platform runs 8–12 h per day on ~7 kWh of swappable batteries at 1 km/h and can be lifted on a tractor three-point hitch for road transport. Dutch dealer Homburg Holland became importer (NL/BE), then acquired Ekobot outright in 2024, planning 20 machines for the Netherlands and Sweden in 2025.
Best for: Onion growers (and increasingly carrot/red-beet growers) in the Netherlands, Belgium and Sweden with ~10 ha of beds per robot who want season-long autonomous mechanical in-row weed control with established dealer support via Homburg.| Aigro UP Verified 2026-07-16 | WEAI Verified 2026-07-17 | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Task | Weeding | Weeding |
| Autonomy | Fully autonomous | Fully autonomous |
| Country of origin | Netherlands | Sweden |
| Availability | Available now | Available now |
| EU market | CE-marked | CE-marked |
| Lead time | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Last verified | 2026-07-16 | 2026-07-17 |
| Specifications | ||
| Power source | Battery-electric · dual swappable 48 V Li-ion packs, ~1-minute changeover | Battery-electric — 2 batteries, ~7 kWh total, manually swapped; 8–12 h operation per day |
| Required tractor power | Not required (self-propelled) | Is the vehicle (three-point-hitch pickup by tractor for road transport) |
| Dimensions | 55 cm wide (2WD and 4WD) or 75 cm wide (4WD) chassis | Bed widths 1.50–3.20 m, adjustable row spacing, 5–8 rows; tool/detection height electrically adjustable by 50 cm |
| Weight | Not disclosed | ~1,500–1,700 kg (vendor pages state 1,700 kg; Future Farming reported ~1,500 kg for the new platform) |
| Min farm size | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Productivity | Up to 24 h/day operation with battery rotation | Keeps up to ~10 ha weed-free per robot per season |
| Max speed | Not disclosed | 1 km/h working speed |
| Sensors | AI camera row recognition for in-row navigation · GPS for row/field switching · app monitoring with remote takeover on alerts | AI camera crop/weed detection · GPS-RTK navigation · safety bumpers, e-stops and cameras |
| Price & model | ||
| Price (EUR) | €45,000 | Not disclosed |
| Native price | €45,000 | Not disclosed |
| Business model | Buy; commercial rollout via importer Mechan (Achterveld, NL) | Sold and serviced via Homburg Holland (owner since 2024) in NL/BE; Ekobot AB channel in Sweden |
| Ongoing cost | Battery packs and wear parts; support via Aigro/Mechan | Battery swapping/charging; finger-weeder wear parts; Homburg service, spares, training and warranty |
| Key outcome | ||
| Best verified result | Mowing/weeding labour in orchard rows Unattended autonomous operation up to 24 h/day with battery swaps · vendor | Onion yield +6% · vendor |
| EU context | ||
| CE marking | CE marked for the EU market (sold commercially in NL) | EU-built series machine sold in NL/SE via an established dealer; CE marking not independently verified |
| Machinery Regulation | Placed on the EU market by Aigro B.V.; autonomous-machine provisions of Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 apply | Swedish-built, Dutch-owned series product; conformity maintained under the EU machinery regime |
| CAP subsidy | Mechanical weed control supports eco-scheme / herbicide-reduction measures under CAP | Herbicide-free weeding in high-value vegetables supports CAP eco-scheme and organic conversion goals |
"—" means the manufacturer has not disclosed the figure; we never estimate silently. Model either machine's payback with your own numbers on its ROI calculator page.