ARA vs S1000
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.Chinese tracked orchard sprayer from Jiangsu Lanjiang Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. (LJ Tech, Nanjing) — 1,000 L tank, diesel-electric hybrid drive, and a multi-sensor (RTK + LiDAR + millimetre-wave radar + machine vision) navigation stack with switchable remote-control or full-autonomous operation. Sold FOB China from China (from roughly US$60,000 on the manufacturer's own B2B storefront); no EU dealer, machine-specific CE declaration, or named European installation was found, despite manufacturer marketing content referencing Spanish, French, Italian, Polish and Austrian orchards.
Best for: Large orchard or vineyard operators able to import directly from China and self-manage logistics, customs, and any EU compliance paperwork themselves.| ARA Verified 2026-07-16 | S1000 Verified 2026-07-19 | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Task | Spraying | Spraying |
| Autonomy | AI-assisted | Fully autonomous |
| Country of origin | Switzerland | China |
| Availability | Available now | Available now |
| EU market | CE-marked | Pending |
| Lead time | ~18 wk | ~4 wk |
| Last verified | 2026-07-16 | 2026-07-19 |
| Specifications | ||
| Power source | Tractor PTO + hydraulics; onboard AI compute | Diesel-electric hybrid — 44 kW four-cylinder diesel engine + generator + 7.2 kWh lithium battery (extended-range design) |
| Required tractor power | 80 hp minimum | Not required — self-propelled tracked platform |
| Dimensions | 6.00 m working width folded to 3.0 m transport | 4490 x 1720 x 1920 mm (L x W x H), tracked chassis (manufacturer listing gives a close variant of 4430 x 1730 x 2100 mm elsewhere — minor inter-listing discrepancy) |
| Weight | 1,900 kg | 2,500 kg (manufacturer B2B listing; may include export packaging) |
| Min farm size | 30 ha | Not disclosed — marketed for large-scale orchard operations (high-density apple blocks, wide citrus rows) but no minimum-hectare figure published |
| Productivity | Up to 4 ha/hour | 850 L/ha spray application rate at 3 km/h working speed; ≥8 hours continuous operation per tank/charge |
| Max speed | 7 km/h working | 0-5 km/h |
| Sensors | High-res cameras · per-plant recognition · section control | 5D fusion navigation (RTK + LiDAR + millimetre-wave radar + machine vision + inertial sensing); 360° obstacle detection for people/animals/barriers; ±5 cm positioning accuracy (manufacturer listing) |
| Price & model | ||
| Price (EUR) | €165,000 | Not disclosed |
| Native price | €165,000 | US$60,000-90,000 (FOB China, manufacturer B2B storefront; MOQ 2 units) |
| Business model | Buy · lease · contractor revenue-share options | Direct export sale via the manufacturer (Jiangsu Lanjiang Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd., Nanjing, China) and its B2B storefronts; FOB pricing with a minimum order of 2 units and a roughly 30-day lead time. No EU-based dealer or sales entity was found. |
| Ongoing cost | €3,200/yr software + agronomic subscription | Not disclosed — no published consumable or running-cost figures (diesel, battery replacement, nozzle wear) were found beyond the manufacturer's 1-year local spare-parts commitment. |
| Key outcome | ||
| Best verified result | Herbicide applied (dock control, grassland) −90%+ · independent | — No verified outcome |
| EU context | ||
| CE marking | CE marked (2022) | Manufacturer's B2B trade listing (made-in-china.com storefront) states the company is "certified by 3C, CE, and ISO quality management system" — a general company-level claim, not a machine-specific CE declaration or document; not independently confirmed. |
| Machinery Regulation | Compliant — Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 | No evidence of EU placing-on-market found; would fall under Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 autonomous-machine provisions if the machine were sold into the EU. |
| CAP subsidy | Eligible under CAP; SW & FR precision-spraying subsidies | Not addressed — China-export machine with plant-protection application only; no CAP eco-scheme linkage found. |
"—" 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.