CLAWS 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.
Concentrated Light Autonomous Weeding and Scouting (CLAWS) robot from UK startup Earth Rover — its patented Lightweeder destroys the meristem of individual weeds with a short pulse of concentrated (non-laser) light, chemical-free and zero-till, on a 100% battery + solar platform with 8 onboard cameras that double as a crop-scouting system. Order book opened Q3 2025; deliveries scheduled from Q1 2026 under a weeding-as-a-service model.
Best for: Organic and chemical-free vegetable and row-crop growers (UK first) who want herbicide-free, zero-till weed control plus per-plant scouting data, paid per hectare rather than as capex.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.| CLAWS Verified 2026-07-17 | TOR laser weeder Verified 2026-07-17 | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Task | Weeding | Weeding |
| Autonomy | Fully autonomous | Fully autonomous |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom | Netherlands |
| Availability | Pre-order | Available now |
| EU market | Pending | CE-marked |
| Lead time | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Last verified | 2026-07-17 | 2026-07-17 |
| Specifications | ||
| Power source | 100% electric — battery + solar; battery alone runs roughly half a day, solar panels extend to a full day | Battery-electric with solar panel; swappable battery, ~10 h operation at standard weed density |
| Required tractor power | Is the vehicle (lightweight autonomous platform, no tractor needed) | Is the vehicle (autonomous laser-weeding platform) |
| Dimensions | ~2 m working width; other dimensions not disclosed | Working width 1.5 m (TOR Flex); 1.8 m and 3.0 m versions announced |
| Weight | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Min farm size | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Productivity | ~1.5 ha per 8 h day demonstrated; ~4 ha/day targeted for the commercial fully autonomous machine, weed burden depending | ~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 | 8 onboard cameras (stereo imaging) · AI per-plant identification · satellite navigation · FIELD digital-twin scouting software | Camera AI crop/weed discrimination (crop hit rate <2% on trained crops) · GPS-RTK navigation |
| Price & model | ||
| Price (EUR) | Not disclosed | from €214,000 |
| Native price | Not disclosed | from €214,000 (TOR Flex) + €14,980/yr service, support and maintenance |
| Business model | Weeding as a service, charged per hectare — positioned at parity with tractor-based weeding and below manual weeding cost | Direct sale by Trabotyx B.V.; maximum 10 machines available for the 2026 season; Dutch robotics subsidy rounds have applied |
| Ongoing cost | Service-model pricing per hectare; no published machine list price | €14,980 per year service, support and maintenance; battery cycling |
| Key outcome | ||
| Best verified result | Herbicide use Chemical-free concentrated-light weeding, zero-till; controls ALS-resistant weeds (Niab-tested, vendor-reported) · vendor | Weed pressure -91% · vendor |
| EU context | ||
| CE marking | Not verified — pre-series Beta Pioneer machine, UK-focused rollout | Dutch-built machine launched commercially June 2025; CE marking not independently verified |
| Machinery Regulation | Post-Brexit UK machine; EU conformity route not published | EU-built series product; conformity route under the EU machinery regime not published |
| CAP subsidy | Chemical-free zero-till weeding aligns with CAP eco-scheme goals, but no EU sales channel is evidenced yet | 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.