Selective Spraying System (SSP) vs GUSS
Two spraying machines, one verified table. Every figure below is sourced and dated; vendor claims are labelled and kept apart from independent results.
Israeli-developed retrofit precision-spray kit that adds real-time selective spraying to a customer's existing self-propelled sprayer — boom-mounted RGB cameras (1.5 m spacing) feed AI that classifies weeds to species level and fires an added line of individually pulsed nozzles, while a second broadcast line still applies residual herbicide. Commercially launched in Israel (2021) and the US Midwest (2022), expanded to cotton in 2025; not confirmed as sold in the EU.
Best for: Established US/Israel row-crop growers (corn, soybean, cotton) running large, modern self-propelled sprayers (2014-model-year or newer) who want to cut non-residual herbicide spend without buying a dedicated robot.California-built (Kingsburg) autonomous sprayer for orchards and vineyards, now a wholly owned John Deere subsidiary after an August 2025 acquisition that followed a three-year joint venture. GUSS navigates rows itself on GPS + LiDAR with no driver on board, but GUSS/Deere describe this as "supervised" autonomy — one operator monitors and can remotely intervene on up to 8 machines at once from a laptop. The line spans base GUSS (600-gal tank, diesel), Mini GUSS (smaller footprint for vineyards/high-density orchards/berries), Herbicide GUSS (sensor-triggered spot-spray weed control) and a 2024 fully electric option; sold and serviced only through John Deere dealers in the US and Australia, with 250+ units deployed globally as of the 2025 acquisition.
Best for: Large commercial orchard, vineyard and berry operations in the US or Australia (almonds, walnuts, pistachios, citrus, stone fruit, wine grapes) wanting to shrink a multi-tractor spray crew — GUSS's own case study shows a conventional 8-worker, 6-tractor medium-scale crew dropping to 2 workers and 4 GUSS units.| Selective Spraying System (SSP) Verified 2026-07-18 | GUSS Verified 2026-07-18 | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Task | Spraying | Spraying |
| Autonomy | AI-assisted | Fully autonomous |
| Country of origin | Israel | United States |
| Availability | Available now | Available now |
| EU market | Pending | Pending |
| Lead time | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Last verified | 2026-07-18 | 2026-07-18 |
| Specifications | ||
| Power source | Retrofit add-on with no engine of its own — hosted on the customer's existing sprayer, typically a diesel self-propelled unit | Diesel — John Deere 4.5L 173 hp Stage V engine (Tier 3 available for export); Herbicide GUSS uses a 4.5L 74 hp Stage V engine (no DEF); a fully electric variant (Electric GUSS, John Deere KREISEL batteries) launched 2024 |
| Required tractor power | Not required as a towed implement; retrofits onto self-propelled sprayers (reported hosts include Hagie, John Deere, Case IH and New Holland, 2014-model-year or newer) | Not applicable — self-propelled 4WD/4-wheel-steer platform, not a tractor implement |
| Dimensions | Custom aluminum dual-wet boom; one reported installation used a 120 ft (36.6 m) boom on a Hagie STS12 — width follows the host sprayer | GUSS: 24 ft long x 6 ft 4 in tall x 8 ft 3 in wide (standard tires; 7 ft 6 in narrow / 8 ft 4 in low-impact options). Herbicide GUSS: 23 ft 6 in long x 6 ft 4 in tall x 8 ft 4 in transport width, 15-19 ft adjustable spray width |
| Weight | Not disclosed | GUSS: 11,660 lb empty. Herbicide GUSS: 12,460 lb empty (manufacturer brochure) |
| Min farm size | Not disclosed by the vendor; independent trade reporting put payback under 2 years mainly for farms above roughly 3,000 acres | Not disclosed as a number; manufacturer brochure markets GUSS at small, medium and large operation scales (its own "small scale" case study is still a professional commercial grower, not a hobby farm) |
| Productivity | Not disclosed as a throughput figure; each captured image is analyzed once in real time as the sprayer passes | 90-gallon fuel cell gives approximately 13-14 hour run time; one operator can monitor/supervise up to 8 GUSS machines at once; manufacturer case study cites refill downtime cut from a typical 45 minutes to about 3 minutes |
| Max speed | Up to 25 km/h (vendor); around 24 km/h (15 mph) demonstrated in independent field reporting | Not disclosed |
| Sensors | RGB cameras mounted at 1.5 m intervals along the boom (up to 50 fps reported in the field), sub-millimeter image resolution, species-level AI weed classification, day/night operation | GPS + LiDAR for autonomous row navigation; user interface flags position/spray-rate/mobility faults with automatic visual and audible alerts; Herbicide GUSS adds multiple onboard weed-detection sensors for spot-spraying |
| Price & model | ||
| Price (EUR) | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Native price | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Business model | Retrofit purchase onto the grower's existing sprayer; vendor states no subscription fee for the AI/software. Independent trade press (Sprayers101, 2023) reported an installed cost of roughly $239,000 for one 120 ft dual-boom configuration — a single reported case, not an official price list, and not reconfirmed directly by Greeneye. | Buy, sold and serviced exclusively through John Deere dealers in the US and Australia; Herbicide GUSS is also offered as a pay-for-service option alongside outright purchase. No unit price published. |
| Ongoing cost | No disclosed software/subscription fee (vendor states "no subscription fees"); ongoing costs would include nozzle, camera and dual-tank wear parts — not itemized by the vendor. | Diesel fuel, tires, spray consumables (nozzles, pump wear parts) and scheduled maintenance through the John Deere dealer network; costs not published |
| Key outcome | ||
| Best verified result | Non-residual herbicide use vs. broadcast spraying (2022 University of Nebraska-Lincoln corn trial) -87% to -94% · independent | Spray-crew labour and equipment at medium scale 8 workers to 2 workers (75% fewer); 12 pieces of towed/tractor equipment to 4 GUSS units · vendor |
| EU context | ||
| CE marking | Not disclosed — no CE marking or EU distribution found; commercially sold only in the US and Israel as of 2026 | Not disclosed — no CE-marking evidence found; confirmed commercial deployment is US and Australia only |
| Machinery Regulation | Not applicable in current markets; would need to meet Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 provisions for automated spraying equipment if placed on the EU market | Not applicable — no evidence GUSS has been placed on the EU market |
| CAP subsidy | Not currently sold in the EU; if introduced, spot-spraying would support Sustainable Use Directive / CAP eco-scheme herbicide-reduction targets | Not applicable — no EU/CAP-linked deployment found; case-study savings above relate to US/Australia operations |
"—" 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.