Honeybee vs Farming GT
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.Stuttgart-built autonomous hoeing robot that identifies crops from the 1 cm cotyledon stage across 100+ validated crops and weeds mechanically around the clock — 40+ robots working 1000+ fields, offered mainly as weeding-as-a-service.
Best for: Vegetable and row-crop growers in Germany and neighbouring EU countries with high hand-weeding costs who want herbicide-free in-row hoeing without buying hardware.| Honeybee Verified 2026-07-16 | Farming GT Verified 2026-07-16 | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Task | Weeding | Weeding |
| Autonomy | Fully autonomous | Fully autonomous |
| Country of origin | Switzerland | Germany |
| Availability | Pre-order | Available now |
| EU market | Pending | CE-marked |
| Lead time | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Last verified | 2026-07-16 | 2026-07-16 |
| Specifications | ||
| Power source | Battery-electric — over 24 h per battery set, two sets supplied for 24/7 operation | Battery-electric · 24+ h runtime |
| Required tractor power | Is the vehicle (self-propelled) | Not required (self-propelled, no tractor or driver) |
| Dimensions | Track width configurable 1.50–1.80 m (beds or dams) | Track width variable 138–225 cm (convertible in ~15 min) |
| Weight | Not disclosed (smaller Grasshopper pilot unit — 300 kg) | Not disclosed |
| 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) | Up to 10 ha per 24 h, unsupervised day and night |
| Max speed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Sensors | RTK-GNSS navigation · cameras with deep-learning crop/weed/soil segmentation | AI multispectral plant/stem detection from 1 cm size · row guidance without GNSS dependency · collision and rain sensors |
| 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 | Primarily weeding-as-a-service; direct machine sale on request |
| Ongoing cost | Electricity; laser and optics service (terms not disclosed) | Service pricing not published |
| Key outcome | ||
| Best verified result | Hand-weeding labour in organic vegetables Autonomous 24/7 laser weeding, herbicide-free · vendor | Herbicide use −100% · vendor |
| EU context | ||
| CE marking | Not confirmed — pre-series/pre-order stage | CE-conform per vendor (Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC compliance stated) |
| Machinery Regulation | Swiss manufacturer — CH follows EU machinery rules via the CH–EU Mutual Recognition Agreement; EU-market conformity not yet demonstrated publicly | Vendor states 2006/42/EC compliance; 2023/1230 transition status not published |
| CAP subsidy | Herbicide-free weeding aligns with CAP eco-schemes and CH Absenkpfad (pesticide-reduction) goals | Herbicide-free mechanical weeding aligns with eco-scheme goals; no formal listing verified |
"—" 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.