Pathfinder vs Oxin
Two autonomous tractor machines, one verified table. Every figure below is sourced and dated; vendor claims are labelled and kept apart from independent results.
Israeli-developed aftermarket kit (Ouster OS1 LiDAR + camera + GNSS sensor fusion) that converts existing tractors of any brand into autonomous units for spraying, spreading, mowing and discing in permanent-crop orchards, vineyards and berries. Sold via a Robot-as-a-Service subscription and, since a 2024 partnership, through select New Holland dealers in the western US; Bluewhite reports 50,000+ autonomous farming hours across 150,000+ acres with 20+ US growers. In May 2026 Bluewhite was acquired by Elbit Systems' defense-autonomy subsidiary FUSE; the company's own site now foregrounds off-road/defense messaging, and the standalone future of the farming line is unclear from public sources.
Best for: Large US permanent-crop growers (orchards, vineyards, berries) with an existing tractor fleet who want to add autonomy without buying new equipment, and who are comfortable with a subscription (RaaS) model.New Zealand-built (Blenheim, Marlborough) fully autonomous, multi-tasking tracked tractor for vineyards and orchards — one machine combines mowing, mulching, trimming, defoliation, desuckering, skirting and weed/canopy spraying (towing 4,000+ L of spray product) in a single row pass, planned and monitored remotely by one operator via tablet, who can oversee multiple units at once. Now in its fourth generation, with roughly 19-21 machines built and in commercial service across two regions of New Zealand as of the most recent public figures (2023-2025 press). International reach is still early — the first export unit is running an ongoing Australian vineyard trial (Duxton Vineyards, Sunraysia, since Feb 2024; almond/citrus orchard use has also been reported separately), and Pellenc America became the US distribution/service/support partner after 2024 demonstrations — but no EU presence, CE marking, or public pricing were found.
Best for: Larger commercial New Zealand vineyard operations able to buy direct from Smart Machine, or US operations reachable through Pellenc America — buyers who want one autonomous machine to replace several separate tractor passes for routine canopy and floor-management work.| Pathfinder Verified 2026-07-18 | Oxin Verified 2026-07-19 | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Task | Autonomous tractor | Autonomous tractor |
| Autonomy | Fully autonomous | Fully autonomous |
| Country of origin | Israel | New Zealand |
| Availability | Available now | Available now |
| EU market | Pending | Pending |
| Lead time | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Last verified | 2026-07-18 | 2026-07-19 |
| Specifications | ||
| Power source | Retrofit kit powered by the host tractor's own diesel powertrain — no dedicated power source of its own; brand-agnostic (confirmed on New Holland tractors) | Diesel — 135 HP engine, 220 L/min hydraulic flow |
| Required tractor power | Aftermarket retrofit for any existing tractor brand/model; power comes from the host tractor | Not required (self-propelled; own 135 HP diesel engine) |
| Dimensions | Not disclosed | 3.8 m long × 1.65 m wide × 2.3 m high; 6.5 m minimum turning radius (rubber-tracked, capable of pivot turns) |
| Weight | Not disclosed | Not disclosed by Smart Machine — a 2023 founder interview stated ~4.5 tonnes, while a third-party aggregator lists 1,200-3,200 kg (conflicting, neither manufacturer-published) |
| Min farm size | Not disclosed (deployments to date are large commercial orchards/vineyards — 150,000+ acres across 20+ US growers) | Not disclosed |
| Productivity | Not disclosed per-machine; fleet-wide agricultural figures only — 150,000+ acres across 20+ US growers, 50,000+ cumulative autonomous farming hours (Bluewhite $39M raise announcement, Jan 2024; a later Elbit acquisition release cites 100,000+ hours, but that figure is combined agricultural + defense, not agriculture-only) | Not disclosed (vendor states 24/7 operation capability and testing across 3,000+ ha in NZ/Australia, but no ha/day or ha/season figure published) |
| Max speed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Sensors | Sensor fusion of Ouster OS1 LiDAR (primary, 45° field of view), RGB/infrared cameras and GNSS/GPS for GPS-denied, canopy-tolerant navigation; IMU for motion sensing; automated obstacle/collision avoidance | Onboard navigation and safety sensors for autonomous operation; live data/video capture and streaming (specific sensor models not disclosed) |
| Price & model | ||
| Price (EUR) | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Native price | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Business model | Robot-as-a-Service (RaaS) — subscription access to the retrofit kit and Compass software rather than a one-time purchase; also sold/serviced as an aftermarket kit through select New Holland dealers in the western US since 2024. No unit or subscription price published. | Sale — Smart Machine builds and sells Oxin units (21 built per a 2023 Waterford Press interview); in the US, Pellenc America is the exclusive distribution, service and support partner following 2024 demonstrations. Company was in a seed funding round (~NZ$5M valuation, Callaghan Innovation R&D support, Pernod Ricard as an early R&D partner/investor) per 2023-2024 press; no public unit pricing found. |
| Ongoing cost | Subscription/RaaS fee — amount not disclosed | Not disclosed — no public service/subscription cost information found |
| Key outcome | ||
| Best verified result | Operating cost in permanent-crop operations 50-85% reduction (vendor claim, "in the areas where Bluewhite-equipped tractors are deployed") · vendor | Vineyard maintenance passes per row Single autonomous pass combining multiple tasks (e.g. mowing, mulching, trimming, spraying) in one row pass · vendor |
| EU context | ||
| CE marking | Not disclosed — no CE-marking evidence found; confirmed commercial deployments are US-only | Not confirmed — no CE-marking evidence found; not placed on the EU market |
| Machinery Regulation | Not applicable — no evidence Pathfinder has been placed on the EU market | Not placed on the EU market; would fall under Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 autonomous-machine provisions if commercialised in the EU |
| CAP subsidy | Not applicable — no EU/CAP-linked deployment found; cost-reduction claims relate to US operations | Not applicable — not sold in the EU; no CAP/eco-scheme relevance found |
"—" 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.