Grande 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.
Larger "pallet-scale" sibling of the base Burro cart — carries up to 680 kg (1,500 lb) and tows up to roughly 2,270 kg (5,000 lb) on flat terrain, versus the base Burro's ~227 kg (500 lb) capacity, aimed at nursery and orchard/vineyard operations moving pallets or loaded trailers through rows and corridors without a driver. Distinct from Burro's newer, higher-power "Grande 44" (44 hp, pre-order, deliveries H2 2026), which supersedes Grande at the top of the range.
Best for: Nursery, orchard and vineyard operations that need to move pallets or loaded trailers over long corridors and rows autonomously, and need more capacity than the base people-scale Burro.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.| Grande Verified 2026-07-19 | Gen 5 Strawberry Harvesting Robot Verified 2026-07-16 | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Task | Harvesting | Harvesting |
| Autonomy | Fully autonomous | Fully autonomous |
| Country of origin | United States | 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 | Battery-electric (Burro platform); exact capacity not disclosed for Grande specifically | Battery-electric · 8 h swappable Li-ion, ~400 W draw |
| Required tractor power | Not applicable | Not required (self-propelled on pipe rails/rows) |
| Dimensions | Not disclosed | 2.4 × 0.7 × 1.8 m |
| Weight | Not disclosed | 400 kg |
| Min farm size | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Productivity | Carries up to 680 kg (1,500 lb); tows up to ~2,270 kg (5,000 lb) on relatively flat terrain (per AgFunderNews' Series-B coverage, agfundernews.com "With a fresh $24m, Burro grows from people- to pallet-scale", Jan 2024) | ~200 kg/day per robot · 80–90% extraction rate · machine-made waste <2.5% |
| Max speed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Sensors | Autonomy via the Burro Operating System (follow-me and waypoint modes, as on the base Burro's vision + GPS platform); Grande-specific sensor hardware not disclosed in reached sources | 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 | Buy per unit via Burro (direct) — RFQ / Request for Quote pricing, no published price found; Burro Operating System fleet software included | Picking-as-a-service (RaaS); ~£30k/unit hardware figure reported but not a public list price |
| Ongoing cost | Not disclosed — no Grande-specific ongoing-cost information found in accessible sources | 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 | No CE marking verifiable as of July 2026 | No CE marking published — operates in UK (UKCA regime), AU and US |
| Machinery Regulation | Not established for the EU market; conformity under Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 would be required for EU sales | Not verified for EU market placement |
| CAP subsidy | Not applicable without EU availability | 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.