Fieldworker 1 vs FAR Flying Autonomous Robots
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 tethered flying robots that pick tree fruit — apples, peaches, nectarines, apricots, plums and pears — with AI vision selecting only ripe fruit and logging weight, colour and geolocation per fruit. Commercially harvesting with Rivoira Group in Italy, HMC Farms in California/Washington and Unifrutti in Chile, primarily as picking-as-a-service paid per harvested tonne; machine purchase offered since late 2023. Raised an $18M Series C in March 2026 with Kubota among investors.
Best for: Large orchard operations (apples, stone fruit, pears) in Tevel's active regions wanting to replace scarce seasonal picking crews with a per-tonne harvest service that also delivers per-fruit data.| Fieldworker 1 Verified 2026-07-17 | FAR Flying Autonomous Robots Verified 2026-07-17 | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Task | Harvesting | Harvesting |
| Autonomy | Fully autonomous | Fully autonomous |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom | Israel |
| Availability | Pilot / limited | Available now |
| 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 — tethered drones powered and coordinated from a mobile ground platform |
| Required tractor power | Not required (self-propelled between rows) | Ground platform moves through the orchard; drones are platform-tethered |
| Dimensions | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Weight | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Min farm size | Not disclosed | Not disclosed (deployments are large commercial orchards) |
| Productivity | Designed to match human picker speed and quality; figures not published | 24/7 harvesting capability; per-unit picking rate not disclosed |
| Max speed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Sensors | AI-enhanced 3D cameras · spectral-frequency ripeness sensing · machine learning pick selection | AI computer vision per drone — ripeness, size, colour grading and disease detection on each fruit; per-fruit weight and geolocation logging |
| 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 | Primarily harvesting-as-a-service on multi-year plans, paid in €/tonne pegged to direct picking labour cost; revenue shared with regional service partners. Direct purchase offered since Q3 2023. |
| Ongoing cost | Service contract terms not disclosed | Per-tonne service fee (rates not published) |
| Key outcome | ||
| Best verified result | Ripeness assessment Spectral-frequency sensing removes human bias from ripeness analysis · vendor | Total harvesting cost −20–30% total cost (vendor claim) · vendor |
| EU context | ||
| CE marking | No CE marking published — UK (UKCA regime) pilots; Portugal trials planned, EU placement not verified | CE status not published; operating commercially in Italian orchards with Rivoira Group |
| Machinery Regulation | Not verified for EU market placement | EU deployments via service partners; Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 autonomous-machine provisions apply, drone elements may engage additional EU rules |
| CAP subsidy | Not applicable — service not yet offered in the EU | 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.