Agras T70P vs GUSS
Two spraying machines, one verified table. Every figure below is sourced and dated; vendor claims are labelled and kept apart from independent results.
DJI's 70 kg-payload spray-spread-lift drone (global launch July 2025) — 70 L spray tank, 100 L spread hopper, dual millimetre-wave radar and tri-vision obstacle sensing.
Best for: Contractors and larger growers who outgrew the T50 and want one aircraft for spraying, spreading and heavy lifting.California-built (Kingsburg) autonomous sprayer for orchards and vineyards, now a wholly owned John Deere subsidiary after an August 2025 acquisition that followed a three-year joint venture. GUSS navigates rows itself on GPS + LiDAR with no driver on board, but GUSS/Deere describe this as "supervised" autonomy — one operator monitors and can remotely intervene on up to 8 machines at once from a laptop. The line spans base GUSS (600-gal tank, diesel), Mini GUSS (smaller footprint for vineyards/high-density orchards/berries), Herbicide GUSS (sensor-triggered spot-spray weed control) and a 2024 fully electric option; sold and serviced only through John Deere dealers in the US and Australia, with 250+ units deployed globally as of the 2025 acquisition.
Best for: Large commercial orchard, vineyard and berry operations in the US or Australia (almonds, walnuts, pistachios, citrus, stone fruit, wine grapes) wanting to shrink a multi-tractor spray crew — GUSS's own case study shows a conventional 8-worker, 6-tractor medium-scale crew dropping to 2 workers and 4 GUSS units.| Agras T70P Verified 2026-07-16 | GUSS Verified 2026-07-18 | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Task | Spraying | Spraying |
| Autonomy | AI-assisted | Fully autonomous |
| Country of origin | China | United States |
| Availability | Available now | Available now |
| EU market | CE-marked | Pending |
| Lead time | ~4 wk | Not disclosed |
| Last verified | 2026-07-16 | 2026-07-18 |
| Specifications | ||
| Power source | Swappable battery (DB1580 30 Ah / DB2160 41 Ah, 52 V) | Diesel — John Deere 4.5L 173 hp Stage V engine (Tier 3 available for export); Herbicide GUSS uses a 4.5L 74 hp Stage V engine (no DEF); a fully electric variant (Electric GUSS, John Deere KREISEL batteries) launched 2024 |
| Required tractor power | Not applicable | Not applicable — self-propelled 4WD/4-wheel-steer platform, not a tractor implement |
| Dimensions | 3.20 × 3.52 × 0.96 m unfolded | GUSS: 24 ft long x 6 ft 4 in tall x 8 ft 3 in wide (standard tires; 7 ft 6 in narrow / 8 ft 4 in low-impact options). Herbicide GUSS: 23 ft 6 in long x 6 ft 4 in tall x 8 ft 4 in transport width, 15-19 ft adjustable spray width |
| Weight | 52–56 kg (dry, by battery) | GUSS: 11,660 lb empty. Herbicide GUSS: 12,460 lb empty (manufacturer brochure) |
| Min farm size | 5 ha | Not disclosed as a number; manufacturer brochure markets GUSS at small, medium and large operation scales (its own "small scale" case study is still a professional commercial grower, not a hobby farm) |
| Productivity | Up to 18 ha/hour (spraying) | 90-gallon fuel cell gives approximately 13-14 hour run time; one operator can monitor/supervise up to 8 GUSS machines at once; manufacturer case study cites refill downtime cut from a typical 45 minutes to about 3 minutes |
| Max speed | 20 m/s | Not disclosed |
| Sensors | D-RTK 3 AG (0.8 cm) · front + rear millimetre-wave radar · tri-vision system | GPS + LiDAR for autonomous row navigation; user interface flags position/spray-rate/mobility faults with automatic visual and audible alerts; Herbicide GUSS adds multiple onboard weed-detection sensors for spot-spraying |
| Price & model | ||
| Price (EUR) | ≈€50,000 | Not disclosed |
| Native price | US$53,999 (US dealer combo) | Not disclosed |
| Business model | Buy via dealer · combos bundle batteries + charger/generator | Buy, sold and serviced exclusively through John Deere dealers in the US and Australia; Herbicide GUSS is also offered as a pay-for-service option alongside outright purchase. No unit price published. |
| Ongoing cost | Battery replacement by cycle count; pump/nozzle consumables | Diesel fuel, tires, spray consumables (nozzles, pump wear parts) and scheduled maintenance through the John Deere dealer network; costs not published |
| Key outcome | ||
| Best verified result | Spray tank payload vs Agras T50 +75% · vendor | Spray-crew labour and equipment at medium scale 8 workers to 2 workers (75% fewer); 12 pieces of towed/tractor equipment to 4 GUSS units · vendor |
| EU context | ||
| CE marking | CE marked (2025) | Not disclosed — no CE-marking evidence found; confirmed commercial deployment is US and Australia only |
| Machinery Regulation | UAS regime applies; EASA Open/Specific category rather than Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 alone | Not applicable — no evidence GUSS has been placed on the EU market |
| CAP subsidy | Aerial PPP application restricted under the Sustainable Use Directive — derogations vary by member state | Not applicable — no EU/CAP-linked deployment found; case-study savings above relate to US/Australia operations |
"—" 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.