Burro vs FAR Flying Autonomous Robots
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.Israeli tethered flying robots that pick tree fruit — apples, peaches, nectarines, apricots, plums and pears — with AI vision selecting only ripe fruit and logging weight, colour and geolocation per fruit. Commercially harvesting with Rivoira Group in Italy, HMC Farms in California/Washington and Unifrutti in Chile, primarily as picking-as-a-service paid per harvested tonne; machine purchase offered since late 2023. Raised an $18M Series C in March 2026 with Kubota among investors.
Best for: Large orchard operations (apples, stone fruit, pears) in Tevel's active regions wanting to replace scarce seasonal picking crews with a per-tonne harvest service that also delivers per-fruit data.| Burro Verified 2026-07-16 | FAR Flying Autonomous Robots Verified 2026-07-17 | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Task | Harvesting | Harvesting |
| Autonomy | Fully autonomous | Fully autonomous |
| Country of origin | United States | Israel |
| Availability | Available now | Available now |
| EU market | Pending | CE-marked |
| Lead time | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Last verified | 2026-07-16 | 2026-07-17 |
| Specifications | ||
| Power source | 2.56 kWh LFP battery (base Burro), swappable | Electric — tethered drones powered and coordinated from a mobile ground platform |
| Required tractor power | Not applicable | Ground platform moves through the orchard; drones are platform-tethered |
| Dimensions | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Weight | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Min farm size | 2 ha | Not disclosed (deployments are large commercial orchards) |
| Productivity | Carries ~227 kg (500 lb); up to 16 km (10 mi) range per battery | 24/7 harvesting capability; per-unit picking rate not disclosed |
| Max speed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Sensors | Computer vision (people-following) · high-precision GPS · IP65-rated for 40 °C+ operation | AI computer vision per drone — ripeness, size, colour grading and disease detection on each fruit; per-fruit weight and geolocation logging |
| 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 | Primarily harvesting-as-a-service on multi-year plans, paid in €/tonne pegged to direct picking labour cost; revenue shared with regional service partners. Direct purchase offered since Q3 2023. |
| Ongoing cost | Battery replacement by cycle life; software/fleet services | Per-tonne service fee (rates not published) |
| Key outcome | ||
| Best verified result | Fleet scale in commercial use 550+ robots sold, ~300,000 autonomous hours · vendor | Total harvesting cost −20–30% total cost (vendor claim) · vendor |
| EU context | ||
| CE marking | No CE marking verifiable as of July 2026 | CE status not published; operating commercially in Italian orchards with Rivoira Group |
| Machinery Regulation | Not established for the EU market; conformity under Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 would be required for EU sales | EU deployments via service partners; Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 autonomous-machine provisions apply, drone elements may engage additional EU rules |
| CAP subsidy | Not applicable without EU availability | Harvest automation — not directly tied to CAP eco-schemes |
"—" 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.