Robocrop InRow Weeder vs TOR laser weeder
Two weeding machines, one verified table. Every figure below is sourced and dated; vendor claims are labelled and kept apart from independent results.
Long-established tractor-mounted vision-guided weeder — video image analysis at 30 frames/second locates each individual plant and steers rotating in-row weeding discs around it, killing weeds between rows AND between plants within the row to ~8 mm of the stem. The 2025-season Robocrop AI upgrade adds green-on-green recognition fusing colour, infrared and depth imaging. Like One Smart Spray, this is AI-driven intelligence on a conventional tractor implement, not a standalone robot.
Best for: Transplanted vegetable growers (lettuce, brassicas, celery) and sugar-beet farms replacing hand-weeding gangs or herbicides with camera-guided mechanical in-row weeding on their existing tractor.First Dutch laser weeding robot, launched June 2025 by Trabotyx (Maarssen) — an autonomous GPS-RTK platform that kills weeds as small as 1 mm with blue diode lasers (adjustable to 200 W each, up to 6 lasers per machine), zero-till and chemical-free. Trained for nine vegetables (carrots, onions, lettuce, cabbage, herbs, spinach, beet, parsnip, chicory) and three flower-bulb crops (lilies, tulips, peonies), with under 2% crop hit rate. The TOR Flex works a 1.5 m width; production is capped at 10 machines for the 2026 season.
Best for: Dutch organic and low-input vegetable and flower-bulb growers who want chemical-free, zero-till in-row weed control — the laser removes weeds mechanical hoes miss without disturbing soil, and the vendor claims ~91% fewer weeds versus conventional practice.| Robocrop InRow Weeder Verified 2026-07-16 | TOR laser weeder Verified 2026-07-17 | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Task | Weeding | Weeding |
| Autonomy | AI-assisted | Fully autonomous |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom | Netherlands |
| 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 | Tractor-mounted implement, hydraulic drive | Battery-electric with solar panel; swappable battery, ~10 h operation at standard weed density |
| Required tractor power | Conventional tractor required; hydraulic side-shift steering of the toolbar | Is the vehicle (autonomous laser-weeding platform) |
| Dimensions | Working widths up to 6 m / up to 20 rows supplied; larger builds available | Working width 1.5 m (TOR Flex); 1.8 m and 3.0 m versions announced |
| Weight | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Min farm size | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Productivity | Forward speeds up to 6 plant spacings per second | ~1.3 ha/day autonomous; ~1 ha per 18.5 h at 360 m/h at standard weed density |
| Max speed | Crop-spacing dependent (up to 6 plants/s per row) | 360–500 m/h working speed |
| Sensors | Robocrop video image analysis at 30 fps · Robocrop AI (2025) adds colour + infrared + depth green-on-green plant recognition · 10.1" in-cab terminal | Camera AI crop/weed discrimination (crop hit rate <2% on trained crops) · GPS-RTK navigation |
| Price & model | ||
| Price (EUR) | Not disclosed | from €214,000 |
| Native price | Not disclosed | from €214,000 (TOR Flex) + €14,980/yr service, support and maintenance |
| Business model | Buy via Garford and its UK/international dealer network | Direct sale by Trabotyx B.V.; maximum 10 machines available for the 2026 season; Dutch robotics subsidy rounds have applied |
| Ongoing cost | Wear metal (discs, blades), camera care; no software subscription published | €14,980 per year service, support and maintenance; battery cycling |
| Key outcome | ||
| Best verified result | In-row weeding precision Mechanical weeding to ~8 mm from the plant stem · vendor | Weed pressure -91% · vendor |
| EU context | ||
| CE marking | CE marked for EU sales; UKCA for the UK market | Dutch-built machine launched commercially June 2025; CE marking not independently verified |
| Machinery Regulation | Tractor-mounted implement under the EU machinery regime; operator remains in control | EU-built series product; conformity route under the EU machinery regime not published |
| CAP subsidy | Mechanical/herbicide-free weeding supports CAP eco-scheme and organic conversion measures | Chemical-free zero-till weeding supports CAP eco-scheme and organic goals; Dutch national robotics subsidies have covered TOR purchases |
"—" 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.