Honeybee vs Robovator
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.Tractor-mounted, vision-guided intra-row hoeing implement from Danish manufacturer F. Poulsen Engineering — a camera above each row spots individual plants and hydraulically swings weeding knives out and back around them, removing weeds between plants without touching the crop. Commercially sold since the early 2010s and independently trialled in US vegetable production; configurable from 5 to 31 rows and adjustable to 25–75 cm row spacing.
Best for: Vegetable, sugar-beet and row-crop growers with a suitable PTO tractor who want camera-guided mechanical in-row weeding to cut herbicide use and hand-weeding labour, across a wide range of farm scales (5- to 31-row configurations).| Honeybee Verified 2026-07-16 | Robovator Verified 2026-07-18 | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Task | Weeding | Weeding |
| Autonomy | Fully autonomous | AI-assisted |
| Country of origin | Switzerland | Denmark |
| Availability | Pre-order | Available now |
| EU market | Pending | Pending |
| Lead time | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Last verified | 2026-07-16 | 2026-07-18 |
| Specifications | ||
| Power source | Battery-electric — over 24 h per battery set, two sets supplied for 24/7 operation | Tractor-mounted implement, PTO-driven hydraulics (~1 hp per row) |
| Required tractor power | Is the vehicle (self-propelled) | 3-point-hitch mounted; requires tractor PTO shaft speed of at least 420 rpm (hydraulic pressure and lamps cut out below ~360 rpm) |
| Dimensions | Track width configurable 1.50–1.80 m (beds or dams) | Configurable 5 to 31 rows; row spacing adjustable 25–75 cm (9–30 in); US-market spec sheet lists 6–12 lines per bed with 60–84 in bed spacing |
| Weight | Not disclosed (smaller Grasshopper pilot unit — 300 kg) | 700 kg (1,500 lb) base weight |
| 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) | Roughly 1.5–2 acres/hour depending on soil and plant conditions (per Pacific Ag Rentals, US distributor); manufacturer-stated field speed 2–8 km/h (1.2–5 mph) |
| Max speed | Not disclosed | 2–8 km/h (1.2–5 mph) |
| Sensors | RTK-GNSS navigation · cameras with deep-learning crop/weed/soil segmentation | One plant-detection camera per row for image-based crop location, functions in low light; automatic self-centring side-shift (±40 cm range, engages after ~1 m of travel) |
| 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 | Buy — tractor-mounted implement sold direct from F. Poulsen Engineering (Denmark) and via distributors, including Agri Evolution (Netherlands, EU) and Pacific Ag Rentals (Salinas, California, western US) |
| Ongoing cost | Electricity; laser and optics service (terms not disclosed) | Wear parts (weeding knives/blades, camera lens care), hydraulic fluid and PTO shaft maintenance; no software subscription published |
| Key outcome | ||
| Best verified result | Hand-weeding labour in organic vegetables Autonomous 24/7 laser weeding, herbicide-free · vendor | Intra-row weed removal vs. a standard cultivator +18 to +41 percentage points · independent |
| EU context | ||
| CE marking | Not confirmed — pre-series/pre-order stage | No CE-marking statement found in the manufacturer's public materials, so compliance is listed as not confirmed — although CE marking is legally required to place machinery on the EU market and F. Poulsen actively sells within the EU (Denmark, and via Netherlands distributor Agri Evolution) |
| Machinery Regulation | Swiss manufacturer — CH follows EU machinery rules via the CH–EU Mutual Recognition Agreement; EU-market conformity not yet demonstrated publicly | Tractor-mounted implement falling under the EU Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230; the tractor operator remains in control at all times |
| CAP subsidy | Herbicide-free weeding aligns with CAP eco-schemes and CH Absenkpfad (pesticide-reduction) goals | Herbicide-free/reduced mechanical in-row weeding supports CAP eco-scheme and organic-conversion measures |
"—" 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.