Compact S9000 vs Gen 5 Strawberry Harvesting Robot
Two harvesting machines, one verified table. Every figure below is sourced and dated; vendor claims are labelled and kept apart from independent results.
Dutch selective white-asparagus harvesting robot from AvL Motion (Westerbeek, NL) — a diesel-electric, self-propelled platform that uses optical RGB/AI plus underground spear detection across 12 rotating harvest modules to locate and cut ripe stalks in the row. Vendor marketing repeatedly calls it "autonomous", but the manufacturer's own spec table and FAQ both confirm one operator must be present in the field to direct the robot via remote control and collect the harvested spears — so it is classified here as assisted, not autonomous. Second- generation model, in commercial development since 2017 and launched 2021; the manufacturer's own product page is live and actively soliciting demo requests as of July 2026.
Best for: White-asparagus growers farming above the manufacturer's own stated profitability threshold (roughly 10 ha) who want to cut peak-season hand-picking labour while keeping one on-site operator directing the robot through each row.Cambridge-built autonomous strawberry picker running commercially as picking-as-a-service — 50+ robots deployed in the UK and internationally, picking tabletop strawberries by night and day. Raised £14m in July 2026 to scale the fleet.
Best for: Tabletop strawberry growers on pipe rails (≥55 cm spacing) in the UK, Australia or California who cannot recruit seasonal pickers.| Compact S9000 Verified 2026-07-19 | Gen 5 Strawberry Harvesting Robot Verified 2026-07-16 | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Task | Harvesting | Harvesting |
| Autonomy | AI-assisted | Fully autonomous |
| Country of origin | Netherlands | United Kingdom |
| Availability | Available now | Available now |
| EU market | Pending | Pending |
| Lead time | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Last verified | 2026-07-19 | 2026-07-16 |
| Specifications | ||
| Power source | Diesel-electric — 25 kW 4-cylinder turbodiesel engine (Stage 5) driving a 20 kVA electric power-distribution system; the manufacturer states the harvest mechanism itself runs fully on electricity (no hydraulics) and is "hybrid-ready" | Battery-electric · 8 h swappable Li-ion, ~400 W draw |
| Required tractor power | Not applicable — self-propelled platform, no tractor required | Not required (self-propelled on pipe rails/rows) |
| Dimensions | 6 m long x 2.36 m wide x 2.93 m tall; turning radius 4.5 m | 2.4 × 0.7 × 1.8 m |
| Weight | 4,500 kg operational weight (manufacturer spec table) | 400 kg |
| Min farm size | Manufacturer states the robot is "on average profitable from 10 hectares"; single-unit field capacity is 15 ha total | Not disclosed |
| Productivity | Up to 9,000 stalks/hour harvesting rate; field capacity 5 ha/day, 15 ha total per unit (each bed harvested roughly every 3 days) | ~200 kg/day per robot · 80–90% extraction rate · machine-made waste <2.5% |
| Max speed | 3.6 km/h (1 m/s), both travel and harvesting | Not disclosed |
| Sensors | Optical RGB combined with AI, plus underground/subsurface spear detection | Stereo vision picking arms · 5-camera onboard grading unit · onboard lighting for night work |
| Price & model | ||
| Price (EUR) | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Native price | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Business model | Direct sale from AvL Motion (Westerbeek, NL); price on request, not published on the manufacturer's site or found in independent coverage. Belgium/Luxembourg availability was claimed in early-2023 third-party listings but is not confirmed at the manufacturer, so it is not listed here. One operator must be present in the field to direct the robot via remote control and collect harvested spears; the robot itself autonomously navigates the bed and executes harvesting once directed. | Picking-as-a-service (RaaS); ~£30k/unit hardware figure reported but not a public list price |
| Ongoing cost | Not disclosed — no published service or subscription costs found on the manufacturer's site. | Service contract per harvest season (terms not disclosed) |
| Key outcome | ||
| Best verified result | — No verified outcome | Picking labour Robot picks ~200 kg/day, up to 16 h with battery swap incl. night shifts · vendor |
| EU context | ||
| CE marking | Not disclosed — no CE-marking statement found on the manufacturer's site or in independent coverage | No CE marking published — operates in UK (UKCA regime), AU and US |
| Machinery Regulation | Not disclosed — no explicit compliance statement found; the autonomous-navigation/remote-operated cutting functions would fall under Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 if placed on the EU market | Not verified for EU market placement |
| CAP subsidy | Harvest automation — not directly tied to CAP eco-schemes | Not applicable — service not offered in the EU |
"—" 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.