Fieldworker 1 vs GRoW
Two harvesting machines, one verified table. Every figure below is sourced and dated; vendor claims are labelled and kept apart from independent results.
Cambridge/Plymouth-rooted raspberry harvesting robot with four soft picking arms and AI-enhanced 3D vision — spectral-frequency ripeness sensing removes human bias from pick decisions. Running a two-year harvesting-as-a-service programme with Place UK (Norfolk) and Littywood Farm (Stafford), backed by £3m funding; international trials planned in Portugal and Australia, commercial multi-robot fleets targeted from 2027.
Best for: Raspberry growers in the UK who want early access to soft-fruit harvest automation via a service programme rather than buying hardware.Israeli dual-arm greenhouse robot that harvests vine tomatoes on pipe-rail systems using an AI 3D vision system, developed with Dutch greenhouse-tech partner Ridder. Running in Dutch greenhouses — validated at grower Lans in the 2025 NPPL-R trial by Wageningen UR (up to ~90% of eligible vines harvested, operator supervision still required) and picking ToBRFV-resistant varieties at Axia Vegetable Seeds' demo greenhouse.
Best for: Large Dutch-style vine-tomato greenhouses on pipe rails wanting to automate harvest labour, with tolerance for a validation-stage machine that needs supervision and a crop structure adapted to robotic picking.| Fieldworker 1 Verified 2026-07-17 | GRoW Verified 2026-07-17 | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Task | Harvesting | Harvesting |
| Autonomy | Fully autonomous | Fully autonomous |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom | Israel |
| Availability | Pilot / limited | Pilot / limited |
| EU market | Pending | CE-marked |
| Lead time | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Last verified | 2026-07-17 | 2026-07-17 |
| Specifications | ||
| Power source | Battery-electric (details not disclosed) | Electric, self-propelled on greenhouse pipe rails |
| Required tractor power | Not required (self-propelled between rows) | Not required (pipe-rail trolley platform) |
| Dimensions | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Weight | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Min farm size | Not disclosed | Not disclosed (targets large commercial greenhouses) |
| Productivity | Designed to match human picker speed and quality; figures not published | WUR NPPL-R 2025: up to ~90% of vines meeting crop criteria harvested; cycle-time figures not published |
| Max speed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Sensors | AI-enhanced 3D cameras · spectral-frequency ripeness sensing · machine learning pick selection | AI 3D vision system with high-resolution colour imaging for truss detection and ripeness |
| Price & model | ||
| Price (EUR) | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Native price | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Business model | Harvesting-as-a-service (2-year programme with Place UK and Littywood Farm); no hardware list price | Direct from MetoMotion / via partner Ridder (NL); demo-request sales process, commercial terms not published |
| Ongoing cost | Service contract terms not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Key outcome | ||
| Best verified result | Ripeness assessment Spectral-frequency sensing removes human bias from ripeness analysis · vendor | Vine tomato harvest success (vines meeting crop criteria) ~90% harvest success · independent |
| EU context | ||
| CE marking | No CE marking published — UK (UKCA regime) pilots; Portugal trials planned, EU placement not verified | CE status not published; operates in Dutch commercial greenhouses |
| Machinery Regulation | Not verified for EU market placement | Placed on the EU market with partner Ridder; Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 autonomous-machine provisions apply |
| CAP subsidy | Not applicable — service not yet offered in the EU | Greenhouse harvest automation — not directly tied to CAP eco-schemes |
"—" 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.