Spraying · head to head
Selective Spraying System (SSP) vs Herbicide GUSS
Two spraying machines, one verified table. Every figure below is sourced and dated; vendor claims are labelled and kept apart from independent results.
Greeneye Technology · Israel
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.GUSS Automation (wholly owned John Deere subsidiary since August 2025) · United States
GUSS Automation's dedicated herbicide sprayer for orchards and vineyards — the same self-driving 4WD/4-wheel-steer platform as base GUSS, but built to spot-spray weeds in row middles instead of spraying the tree/vine canopy, using multiple onboard weed-detection sensors to target individual weeds rather than blanket-spraying. Diesel-powered (John Deere 4.5L 74 hp Stage V engine, no DEF) with a 600-gallon tank and adjustable 15-19 ft breakaway spray booms. Like the rest of the GUSS line it is sold and serviced only through John Deere dealers, confirmed only in the US and Australia, with no EU presence found.
Best for: Large commercial orchard and vineyard operations in the US or Australia (same footprint as base GUSS — almonds, walnuts, pistachios, citrus, stone fruit, wine grapes) wanting to cut herbicide use and weeding labour by autonomously spot-spraying individual weeds in row middles instead of blanket spraying or hand/mechanical weeding.| Selective Spraying System (SSP) Verified 2026-07-18 | Herbicide GUSS Verified 2026-07-19 | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | 2026-07-19 |
| 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 74 hp Stage V engine, no DEF required (manufacturer brochure). A third-party directory instead describes a 3.8L Cummins engine; not confirmed by GUSS Automation, whose own current brochure states John Deere. |
| 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 | 23 ft 6 in long x 6 ft 4 in tall x 8 ft 4 in transport width; 15-19 ft adjustable spray boom width (manufacturer brochure) |
| Weight | Not disclosed | 12,460 lb (5,652 kg) empty — manufacturer brochure. (A third-party directory cites "5,652 lb", which is actually this same kg figure mislabeled as lb — a units error, not a genuine conflict.) |
| 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 the GUSS/Herbicide GUSS line at small, medium and large operation scales (its "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/Herbicide 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 + vehicle sensors for autonomous navigation (manufacturer states GPS alone is unreliable beneath tree canopy, hence the added sensor stack); multiple onboard precision weed-detection sensors trigger targeted spot-spraying instead of blanket application; GUSS Safety Vest disables drive mechanics when a nearby worker's vest is detected |
| 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 or pay-for-service, sold and serviced through GUSS Automation (Kingsburg, California — a wholly owned John Deere subsidiary since August 2025) and John Deere dealers, confirmed in the US and Australia. GUSS Automation publishes no unit price; a third-party ag-tech directory (unconfirmed by the manufacturer) cites an indicative $301,000-$400,000 depending on configuration. |
| 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 GUSS Automation / 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 | Herbicide application — spot-spray vs blanket application Multiple onboard weed-detection sensors trigger targeted spot-spray only where weeds are actually present · 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 Herbicide 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 |
"—" 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.