Honeybee vs WEAI
Two weeding machines, one verified table. Every figure below is sourced and dated; vendor claims are labelled and kept apart from independent results.
Fully autonomous battery-electric laser weeding robot from Caterra, an ETH Zürich spin-off (Glattbrugg, ZH) — deep-learning vision distinguishes crop, weed and soil, then kills weeds with laser pulses to within ~3 mm of the crop, herbicide-free and organic-certified. In pre-order as of mid-2026 after 2025 field pilots (incl. the smaller 300 kg Grasshopper test fleet of 11 units); direct sales only, no dealer network yet.
Best for: Organic and high-value vegetable growers (~10–15+ ha of annual crops) replacing labour-intensive hand weeding with 24/7 in-row laser weeding.Swedish battery-electric weeding robot purpose-built for onion beds (and extending to carrots and beetroot) — AI vision plus GPS-RTK guide finger weeders that pull up to five weeds per second per unit across 5–8 rows on beds 1.50–3.20 m wide. The ~1,500–1,700 kg platform runs 8–12 h per day on ~7 kWh of swappable batteries at 1 km/h and can be lifted on a tractor three-point hitch for road transport. Dutch dealer Homburg Holland became importer (NL/BE), then acquired Ekobot outright in 2024, planning 20 machines for the Netherlands and Sweden in 2025.
Best for: Onion growers (and increasingly carrot/red-beet growers) in the Netherlands, Belgium and Sweden with ~10 ha of beds per robot who want season-long autonomous mechanical in-row weed control with established dealer support via Homburg.| Honeybee Verified 2026-07-16 | WEAI Verified 2026-07-17 | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Task | Weeding | Weeding |
| Autonomy | Fully autonomous | Fully autonomous |
| Country of origin | Switzerland | Sweden |
| Availability | Pre-order | Available now |
| EU market | Pending | CE-marked |
| Lead time | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Last verified | 2026-07-16 | 2026-07-17 |
| Specifications | ||
| Power source | Battery-electric — over 24 h per battery set, two sets supplied for 24/7 operation | Battery-electric — 2 batteries, ~7 kWh total, manually swapped; 8–12 h operation per day |
| Required tractor power | Is the vehicle (self-propelled) | Is the vehicle (three-point-hitch pickup by tractor for road transport) |
| Dimensions | Track width configurable 1.50–1.80 m (beds or dams) | Bed widths 1.50–3.20 m, adjustable row spacing, 5–8 rows; tool/detection height electrically adjustable by 50 cm |
| Weight | Not disclosed (smaller Grasshopper pilot unit — 300 kg) | ~1,500–1,700 kg (vendor pages state 1,700 kg; Future Farming reported ~1,500 kg for the new platform) |
| Min farm size | ~10 ha annual crops (15+ ha ideal) | Not disclosed |
| Productivity | 24/7 capable; multiple robots can work the same field (Grasshopper pilot — ~80 m/h) | Keeps up to ~10 ha weed-free per robot per season |
| Max speed | Not disclosed | 1 km/h working speed |
| Sensors | RTK-GNSS navigation · cameras with deep-learning crop/weed/soil segmentation | AI camera crop/weed detection · GPS-RTK navigation · safety bumpers, e-stops and cameras |
| Price & model | ||
| Price (EUR) | ≈€220,000 | Not disclosed |
| Native price | ≈€220,000 purchase (4-laser) or ≈€65,000/year lease — trade-press figures, not published by Caterra | Not disclosed |
| Business model | Direct sales / pre-order via Caterra; one-year lease option reported | Sold and serviced via Homburg Holland (owner since 2024) in NL/BE; Ekobot AB channel in Sweden |
| Ongoing cost | Electricity; laser and optics service (terms not disclosed) | Battery swapping/charging; finger-weeder wear parts; Homburg service, spares, training and warranty |
| Key outcome | ||
| Best verified result | Hand-weeding labour in organic vegetables Autonomous 24/7 laser weeding, herbicide-free · vendor | Onion yield +6% · vendor |
| EU context | ||
| CE marking | Not confirmed — pre-series/pre-order stage | EU-built series machine sold in NL/SE via an established dealer; CE marking not independently verified |
| Machinery Regulation | Swiss manufacturer — CH follows EU machinery rules via the CH–EU Mutual Recognition Agreement; EU-market conformity not yet demonstrated publicly | Swedish-built, Dutch-owned series product; conformity maintained under the EU machinery regime |
| CAP subsidy | Herbicide-free weeding aligns with CAP eco-schemes and CH Absenkpfad (pesticide-reduction) goals | Herbicide-free weeding in high-value vegetables supports CAP eco-scheme and organic conversion goals |
"—" 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.