Honeybee vs TOR laser weeder
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.First Dutch laser weeding robot, launched June 2025 by Trabotyx (Maarssen) — an autonomous GPS-RTK platform that kills weeds as small as 1 mm with blue diode lasers (adjustable to 200 W each, up to 6 lasers per machine), zero-till and chemical-free. Trained for nine vegetables (carrots, onions, lettuce, cabbage, herbs, spinach, beet, parsnip, chicory) and three flower-bulb crops (lilies, tulips, peonies), with under 2% crop hit rate. The TOR Flex works a 1.5 m width; production is capped at 10 machines for the 2026 season.
Best for: Dutch organic and low-input vegetable and flower-bulb growers who want chemical-free, zero-till in-row weed control — the laser removes weeds mechanical hoes miss without disturbing soil, and the vendor claims ~91% fewer weeds versus conventional practice.| Honeybee Verified 2026-07-16 | TOR laser weeder Verified 2026-07-17 | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Task | Weeding | Weeding |
| Autonomy | Fully autonomous | Fully autonomous |
| Country of origin | Switzerland | Netherlands |
| 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 with solar panel; swappable battery, ~10 h operation at standard weed density |
| Required tractor power | Is the vehicle (self-propelled) | Is the vehicle (autonomous laser-weeding platform) |
| Dimensions | Track width configurable 1.50–1.80 m (beds or dams) | Working width 1.5 m (TOR Flex); 1.8 m and 3.0 m versions announced |
| 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) | ~1.3 ha/day autonomous; ~1 ha per 18.5 h at 360 m/h at standard weed density |
| Max speed | Not disclosed | 360–500 m/h working speed |
| Sensors | RTK-GNSS navigation · cameras with deep-learning crop/weed/soil segmentation | Camera AI crop/weed discrimination (crop hit rate <2% on trained crops) · GPS-RTK navigation |
| Price & model | ||
| Price (EUR) | ≈€220,000 | from €214,000 |
| Native price | ≈€220,000 purchase (4-laser) or ≈€65,000/year lease — trade-press figures, not published by Caterra | from €214,000 (TOR Flex) + €14,980/yr service, support and maintenance |
| Business model | Direct sales / pre-order via Caterra; one-year lease option reported | Direct sale by Trabotyx B.V.; maximum 10 machines available for the 2026 season; Dutch robotics subsidy rounds have applied |
| Ongoing cost | Electricity; laser and optics service (terms not disclosed) | €14,980 per year service, support and maintenance; battery cycling |
| Key outcome | ||
| Best verified result | Hand-weeding labour in organic vegetables Autonomous 24/7 laser weeding, herbicide-free · vendor | Weed pressure -91% · vendor |
| EU context | ||
| CE marking | Not confirmed — pre-series/pre-order stage | Dutch-built machine launched commercially June 2025; 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 | EU-built series product; conformity route under the EU machinery regime not published |
| CAP subsidy | Herbicide-free weeding aligns with CAP eco-schemes and CH Absenkpfad (pesticide-reduction) goals | Chemical-free zero-till weeding supports CAP eco-scheme and organic goals; Dutch national robotics subsidies have covered TOR purchases |
"—" 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.