Burro 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.
American autonomous collaborative carrier — follows pickers or runs fixed A-to-B routes hauling harvest totes and materials; 550+ robots sold and ~300,000 autonomous hours across the US, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Israel and Latin America.
Best for: Labour-squeezed berry, table-grape and nursery operations that lose picker time to walking full trays back to the collection point.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.| Burro Verified 2026-07-16 | 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 | 2026-07-16 | 2026-07-16 |
| Specifications | ||
| Power source | 2.56 kWh LFP battery (base Burro), swappable | 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 | 2 ha | Not disclosed |
| Productivity | Carries ~227 kg (500 lb); up to 16 km (10 mi) range per battery | ~200 kg/day per robot · 80–90% extraction rate · machine-made waste <2.5% |
| Max speed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Sensors | Computer vision (people-following) · high-precision GPS · IP65-rated for 40 °C+ operation | Stereo vision picking arms · 5-camera onboard grading unit · onboard lighting for night work |
| Price & model | ||
| Price (EUR) | ≈€21,000–72,000 | Not disclosed |
| Native price | US$25,000–85,000 depending on model (trade-press reported range) | Not disclosed |
| Business model | Buy per unit via Burro or distributors (e.g. AdeptAg in the US); fleet software included | Picking-as-a-service (RaaS); ~£30k/unit hardware figure reported but not a public list price |
| Ongoing cost | Battery replacement by cycle life; software/fleet services | Service contract per harvest season (terms not disclosed) |
| Key outcome | ||
| Best verified result | Fleet scale in commercial use 550+ robots sold, ~300,000 autonomous hours · vendor | 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.