ICARO X4 vs YV01 autonomous vineyard sprayer
Two spraying machines, one verified table. Every figure below is sourced and dated; vendor claims are labelled and kept apart from independent results.
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.Crawler-tracked autonomous spraying robot for steep, narrow vineyards — inverted-U frame straddles vines up to 1.4 m, 200 L electrostatic spray tank, 45% slope capability. Developed by Yanmar, on sale in France since 2023 through dedicated subsidiary Yanmar Vineyard Solutions (Champagne region focus, Moët & Chandon partnership); a weeder attachment was added in 2024.
Best for: Steep Champagne-style narrow vineyards that want to take the operator out of plant-protection spraying — no driver exposure to chemicals, slopes to 45%.| ICARO X4 Verified 2026-07-19 | YV01 autonomous vineyard sprayer Verified 2026-07-16 | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Task | Spraying | Spraying |
| Autonomy | Fully autonomous | Fully autonomous |
| Country of origin | Italy | Japan |
| Availability | Pilot / limited | Available now |
| EU market | Pending | CE-marked |
| Lead time | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Last verified | 2026-07-19 | 2026-07-16 |
| Specifications | ||
| Power source | Hybrid — electric drive motors with a 2-cylinder Kohler diesel range extender | Petrol — Honda iGX800 2-cyl air-cooled engine (~25–27 hp), 19 L tank |
| Required tractor power | Not required (self-propelled hybrid unit) | Is the vehicle (twin-crawler autonomous chassis) |
| Dimensions | 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) | Inverted-U straddle frame for vines up to 1.4 m height |
| Weight | Not disclosed | ~1 t |
| Min farm size | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Productivity | 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 | Autonomous spraying along pre-mapped vineyard paths; 200 L spray tank |
| Max speed | 2 km/h | 4 km/h |
| Sensors | 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 | GNSS RTK positioning with Ntrip correction · pre-mapped field and path definition via web system · counter-rotating crawlers for tight headland turns |
| Price & model | ||
| Price (EUR) | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Native price | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Business model | 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) | Sold and serviced by Yanmar Vineyard Solutions SAS, a dedicated Yanmar Group company in France |
| Ongoing cost | Kohler diesel range-extender fuel and servicing; UV panel and weather-station upkeep — costs not published | Petrol; spray consumables; service via Yanmar Vineyard Solutions |
| Key outcome | ||
| Best verified result | 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 | Operator exposure during spraying Driverless spraying — worker removed from dangerous field work · vendor |
| EU context | ||
| CE marking | Not disclosed — no CE marking statement found on the manufacturer site or in trade coverage | Sold as a series product in France — CE conformity expected; not independently verified |
| Machinery Regulation | 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 | Marketed in the EU via Yanmar Vineyard Solutions SAS (France); conformity documentation not published |
| CAP subsidy | Fungicide/pesticide-reduction positioning may support IPM-linked CAP eco-scheme measures, though no direct CAP reference found in manufacturer materials | Electrostatic targeted spraying supports pesticide-efficiency goals; petrol drive offers no emissions benefit |
"—" 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.