RoamIO-HCW vs Robovator
Two weeding machines, one verified table. Every figure below is sourced and dated; vendor claims are labelled and kept apart from independent results.
Canadian (Oshawa, Ontario) multipurpose autonomous field robot — Korechi's largest and first wheeled RoamIO model, built to seed, weed, cultivate, mow, soil-sample, data-log and transport across an adjustable-width chassis. Battery-electric with cm-level RTK GNSS navigation and dual AI-camera obstacle detection; Korechi's own product page states it is "now taking orders." Pricing is not published by Korechi itself — an independent buyer's guide lists a starting price of roughly $80,000 (final price varies by configuration) — and the company currently serves only the US and Canadian markets.
Best for: Vegetable and horticultural growers in the US or Canada wanting one multipurpose autonomous tool-carrier (seeding, weeding, cultivating, mowing, transport, data-logging) from a small Ontario-based robotics maker that is actively taking orders.Tractor-mounted, vision-guided intra-row hoeing implement from Danish manufacturer F. Poulsen Engineering — a camera above each row spots individual plants and hydraulically swings weeding knives out and back around them, removing weeds between plants without touching the crop. Commercially sold since the early 2010s and independently trialled in US vegetable production; configurable from 5 to 31 rows and adjustable to 25–75 cm row spacing.
Best for: Vegetable, sugar-beet and row-crop growers with a suitable PTO tractor who want camera-guided mechanical in-row weeding to cut herbicide use and hand-weeding labour, across a wide range of farm scales (5- to 31-row configurations).| RoamIO-HCW Verified 2026-07-19 | Robovator Verified 2026-07-18 | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Task | Weeding | Weeding |
| Autonomy | Fully autonomous | AI-assisted |
| Country of origin | Canada | Denmark |
| Availability | Available now | Available now |
| EU market | Pending | Pending |
| Lead time | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Last verified | 2026-07-19 | 2026-07-18 |
| Specifications | ||
| Power source | Battery-electric — 20 kWh "safe lithium chemistry" pack rated 10+ years of life; optional extra battery packs or a petrol/diesel generator for extended range | Tractor-mounted implement, PTO-driven hydraulics (~1 hp per row) |
| Required tractor power | Not required (self-propelled); 13.4 hp (10 kW) brushless DC motors, peak 22.2 hp (16.6 kW) | 3-point-hitch mounted; requires tractor PTO shaft speed of at least 420 rpm (hydraulic pressure and lamps cut out below ~360 rpm) |
| Dimensions | 74" x 70.5"–83.5" x 64" (1.87 m x 1.79–2.12 m x 1.62 m, L x W x H); width adjustable 47.5"–75.5" (1.2–1.91 m) in 2" increments | Configurable 5 to 31 rows; row spacing adjustable 25–75 cm (9–30 in); US-market spec sheet lists 6–12 lines per bed with 60–84 in bed spacing |
| Weight | 1,300 lb (590 kg) | 700 kg (1,500 lb) base weight |
| Min farm size | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Productivity | Not disclosed | Roughly 1.5–2 acres/hour depending on soil and plant conditions (per Pacific Ag Rentals, US distributor); manufacturer-stated field speed 2–8 km/h (1.2–5 mph) |
| Max speed | 4 mph (6.5 kph) | 2–8 km/h (1.2–5 mph) |
| Sensors | Multi-constellation multi-band GNSS RTK with dual antenna for cm-level positioning; dual AI-powered cameras for obstacle/collision detection; physical and remote e-stop | One plant-detection camera per row for image-based crop location, functions in low light; automatic self-centring side-shift (±40 cm range, engages after ~1 m of travel) |
| Price & model | ||
| Price (EUR) | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Native price | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Business model | Buy, direct from Korechi Innovations (Oshawa, ON) — the RoamIO-HCW product page states "WE ARE NOW TAKING ORDERS"; contact required for a configuration-specific quote/demo, no published dealer network. Korechi publishes no price; Future Farming's buyer's guide listed a US$80,000 starting figure at a Nov-2023 exchange rate — a dated third-party data point, not a verified current price. | Buy — tractor-mounted implement sold direct from F. Poulsen Engineering (Denmark) and via distributors, including Agri Evolution (Netherlands, EU) and Pacific Ag Rentals (Salinas, California, western US) |
| Ongoing cost | Not disclosed in detail. Optional paid add-ons found: extra battery packs, a petrol/diesel generator for range extension, an auxiliary data-logging computer, LED floodlights, and structural mounts for extra sensors/implements. | Wear parts (weeding knives/blades, camera lens care), hydraulic fluid and PTO shaft maintenance; no software subscription published |
| Key outcome | ||
| Best verified result | Labour and fuel use for field tasks Up to 80% reduction (vendor claim; no independent measurement found) · vendor | Intra-row weed removal vs. a standard cultivator +18 to +41 percentage points · independent |
| EU context | ||
| CE marking | No CE marking found — Korechi states on its own homepage that it "currently serve[s] the US and Canadian markets"; no EU sales or compliance evidence found. | No CE-marking statement found in the manufacturer's public materials, so compliance is listed as not confirmed — although CE marking is legally required to place machinery on the EU market and F. Poulsen actively sells within the EU (Denmark, and via Netherlands distributor Agri Evolution) |
| Machinery Regulation | Not placed on the EU market; would need to meet the autonomous-machinery provisions of Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 if it ever entered the EU. | Tractor-mounted implement falling under the EU Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230; the tractor operator remains in control at all times |
| CAP subsidy | Not applicable — US/Canada-market machine with no EU sales, so no CAP eco-scheme relevance. | Herbicide-free/reduced mechanical in-row weeding supports CAP eco-scheme and organic-conversion measures |
"—" 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.