RoamIO-HCW vs Field Friend (Feldfreund)
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.Modular AI mini field robot from Zauberzeug (Havixbeck, Münsterland) — a ~100 kg tracked platform under 1 m³ that uses onboard camera AI (the "Zauberzeug Robot Brain" edge-compute unit) to distinguish crops from weeds and mechanically remove them, including deep-rooted weeds. Offered both as a pay-per-hour weeding service (no machine purchase) and as a development platform; trade press reported roughly €20,000 for the machine with tools up to ~€5,000 extra. Winner of the Münsterland Innovation Award 2023/24.
Best for: Small-scale German vegetable and row-crop growers, market gardens and research users who want camera-guided mechanical in-row weeding without a big capex — pay per hour of weeding done.| RoamIO-HCW Verified 2026-07-19 | Field Friend (Feldfreund) Verified 2026-07-17 | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Task | Weeding | Weeding |
| Autonomy | Fully autonomous | Fully autonomous |
| Country of origin | Canada | Germany |
| Availability | Available now | Available now |
| EU market | Pending | CE-marked |
| Lead time | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Last verified | 2026-07-19 | 2026-07-17 |
| 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 | Battery-electric; solar panel and backup battery cited for extended operation |
| Required tractor power | Not required (self-propelled); 13.4 hp (10 kW) brushless DC motors, peak 22.2 hp (16.6 kW) | Is the vehicle (compact tracked mini robot) |
| 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 | Under 1 m³ compact footprint (dev-kit chassis: 845 × 670 × 685 mm) |
| Weight | 1,300 lb (590 kg) | ~100 kg (dev-kit chassis 100 kg) |
| Min farm size | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Productivity | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Max speed | 4 mph (6.5 kph) | Not disclosed |
| 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 | Camera AI crop/weed differentiation · GPS-RTK navigation · Zauberzeug Robot Brain edge-AI computer |
| Price & model | ||
| Price (EUR) | Not disclosed | ~€20,000 |
| Native price | Not disclosed | ~€20,000 (machine, trade-press reported, Nov 2024) + up to ~€5,000 tools; service model priced per hour |
| 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. | Pay-per-hour weeding service as the headline model; machine and dev-kit purchase also offered |
| 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. | Service model includes maintenance; battery cycling and tool wear if machine is owned |
| Key outcome | ||
| Best verified result | Labour and fuel use for field tasks Up to 80% reduction (vendor claim; no independent measurement found) · vendor | Herbicide use Camera-guided mechanical single-weed removal, herbicide-free, including deep-rooted weeds · vendor |
| 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. | German-built machine operating commercially in Germany; CE status not independently verified |
| 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. | EU-built; conformity route under the EU machinery regime not published |
| CAP subsidy | Not applicable — US/Canada-market machine with no EU sales, so no CAP eco-scheme relevance. | Herbicide-free mechanical weeding supports CAP eco-scheme and organic goals |
"—" 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.