ARA vs ICARO X4
Two spraying machines, one verified table. Every figure below is sourced and dated; vendor claims are labelled and kept apart from independent results.
Tractor-drawn smart sprayer that treats each plant individually with centimetre precision.
Best for: Growers cutting herbicide/pesticide spend hard while keeping an existing tractor fleet.Italian hybrid diesel-electric robot from Free Green Nature (Colle Umberto, Treviso — coordinated by parent Maschio Gaspardo S.p.a.) that patrols vineyards autonomously and folds out UV-C panels to actively prevent powdery mildew, downy mildew and botrytis, triggered by an onboard weather station ("the Commander of ICARO X4") reading conditions favourable to infection. It is a prevention system, not a curative treatment, and the manufacturer does not publish independent field-performance data — chemical-reduction figures found are vendor-stated.
Best for: Vineyard growers on a single contiguous block up to roughly 10-15 ha who want to cut fungicide/pesticide spray rounds against powdery mildew, downy mildew and botrytis by substituting or supplementing them with UV-C light treatment.| ARA Verified 2026-07-16 | ICARO X4 Verified 2026-07-19 | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Task | Spraying | Spraying |
| Autonomy | AI-assisted | Fully autonomous |
| Country of origin | Switzerland | Italy |
| Availability | Available now | Pilot / limited |
| EU market | CE-marked | Pending |
| Lead time | ~18 wk | Not disclosed |
| Last verified | 2026-07-16 | 2026-07-19 |
| Specifications | ||
| Power source | Tractor PTO + hydraulics; onboard AI compute | Hybrid — electric drive motors with a 2-cylinder Kohler diesel range extender |
| Required tractor power | 80 hp minimum | Not required (self-propelled hybrid unit) |
| Dimensions | 6.00 m working width folded to 3.0 m transport | Approx. 3085 x 1550 x 1150-2700 mm (L x W x H, UV panels raised); track width ~1500 mm; turning radius ~900 mm; rated for slopes over 15% (per AgTecher/RobotToday listings — not confirmed on the manufacturer site) |
| Weight | 1,900 kg | Not disclosed |
| Min farm size | 30 ha | Not disclosed |
| Productivity | Up to 4 ha/hour | Up to 10-15 ha coverage per unit for preventive treatment (property layout, slope and soil-dependent); up to 72 continuous hours of operation before refuelling/recharging |
| Max speed | 7 km/h working | 2 km/h |
| Sensors | High-res cameras · per-plant recognition · section control | RTK positioning (centimetre-level, works without satellite signal per vendor); 4 AI-equipped cameras for pedestrian/obstacle detection; SIL2-certified radar; integrated weather station (wind, temperature, humidity, dew point, rainfall) driving an infection-risk algorithm that triggers treatment |
| Price & model | ||
| Price (EUR) | €165,000 | Not disclosed |
| Native price | €165,000 | Not disclosed |
| Business model | Buy · lease · contractor revenue-share options | Direct inquiry/quote purchase — Free Green Nature assesses a vineyard's coverage via drone survey before pricing; no price is published (a €115,000 indicative figure circulates on the AgTecher directory only — not manufacturer-confirmed). The company is actively recruiting agricultural-machinery dealers and service centres (no established dealer network found) |
| Ongoing cost | €3,200/yr software + agronomic subscription | Kohler diesel range-extender fuel and servicing; UV panel and weather-station upkeep — costs not published |
| Key outcome | ||
| Best verified result | Herbicide applied (dock control, grassland) −90%+ · independent | Chemical fungicide/pesticide use in treated vineyard blocks up to -70% (vendor-stated; not confirmed on the manufacturer's own site, which states only a qualitative "reduction or elimination of pesticides") · vendor |
| EU context | ||
| CE marking | CE marked (2022) | Not disclosed — no CE marking statement found on the manufacturer site or in trade coverage |
| Machinery Regulation | Compliant — Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 | No explicit compliance statement found; the machine is marketed and sold within the EU (Italy), so would fall under Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 autonomous-machine provisions if placed on the market |
| CAP subsidy | Eligible under CAP; SW & FR precision-spraying subsidies | Fungicide/pesticide-reduction positioning may support IPM-linked CAP eco-scheme measures, though no direct CAP reference found in manufacturer materials |
"—" 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.