Farming GT vs Field Friend (Feldfreund)
Two weeding machines, one verified table. Every figure below is sourced and dated; vendor claims are labelled and kept apart from independent results.
Stuttgart-built autonomous hoeing robot that identifies crops from the 1 cm cotyledon stage across 100+ validated crops and weeds mechanically around the clock — 40+ robots working 1000+ fields, offered mainly as weeding-as-a-service.
Best for: Vegetable and row-crop growers in Germany and neighbouring EU countries with high hand-weeding costs who want herbicide-free in-row hoeing without buying hardware.Modular AI mini field robot from Zauberzeug (Havixbeck, Münsterland) — a ~100 kg tracked platform under 1 m³ that uses onboard camera AI (the "Zauberzeug Robot Brain" edge-compute unit) to distinguish crops from weeds and mechanically remove them, including deep-rooted weeds. Offered both as a pay-per-hour weeding service (no machine purchase) and as a development platform; trade press reported roughly €20,000 for the machine with tools up to ~€5,000 extra. Winner of the Münsterland Innovation Award 2023/24.
Best for: Small-scale German vegetable and row-crop growers, market gardens and research users who want camera-guided mechanical in-row weeding without a big capex — pay per hour of weeding done.| Farming GT Verified 2026-07-16 | Field Friend (Feldfreund) Verified 2026-07-17 | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Task | Weeding | Weeding |
| Autonomy | Fully autonomous | Fully autonomous |
| Country of origin | Germany | Germany |
| Availability | Available now | Available now |
| EU market | CE-marked | CE-marked |
| Lead time | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Last verified | 2026-07-16 | 2026-07-17 |
| Specifications | ||
| Power source | Battery-electric · 24+ h runtime | Battery-electric; solar panel and backup battery cited for extended operation |
| Required tractor power | Not required (self-propelled, no tractor or driver) | Is the vehicle (compact tracked mini robot) |
| Dimensions | Track width variable 138–225 cm (convertible in ~15 min) | Under 1 m³ compact footprint (dev-kit chassis: 845 × 670 × 685 mm) |
| Weight | Not disclosed | ~100 kg (dev-kit chassis 100 kg) |
| Min farm size | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Productivity | Up to 10 ha per 24 h, unsupervised day and night | Not disclosed |
| Max speed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Sensors | AI multispectral plant/stem detection from 1 cm size · row guidance without GNSS dependency · collision and rain sensors | Camera AI crop/weed differentiation · GPS-RTK navigation · Zauberzeug Robot Brain edge-AI computer |
| Price & model | ||
| Price (EUR) | Not disclosed | ~€20,000 |
| Native price | Not disclosed | ~€20,000 (machine, trade-press reported, Nov 2024) + up to ~€5,000 tools; service model priced per hour |
| Business model | Primarily weeding-as-a-service; direct machine sale on request | Pay-per-hour weeding service as the headline model; machine and dev-kit purchase also offered |
| Ongoing cost | Service pricing not published | Service model includes maintenance; battery cycling and tool wear if machine is owned |
| Key outcome | ||
| Best verified result | Herbicide use −100% · vendor | Herbicide use Camera-guided mechanical single-weed removal, herbicide-free, including deep-rooted weeds · vendor |
| EU context | ||
| CE marking | CE-conform per vendor (Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC compliance stated) | German-built machine operating commercially in Germany; CE status not independently verified |
| Machinery Regulation | Vendor states 2006/42/EC compliance; 2023/1230 transition status not published | EU-built; conformity route under the EU machinery regime not published |
| CAP subsidy | Herbicide-free mechanical weeding aligns with eco-scheme goals; no formal listing verified | Herbicide-free mechanical weeding supports CAP eco-scheme and organic goals |
"—" 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.