S1000 vs Thorvald
Two spraying machines, one verified table. Every figure below is sourced and dated; vendor claims are labelled and kept apart from independent results.
Chinese tracked orchard sprayer from Jiangsu Lanjiang Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. (LJ Tech, Nanjing) — 1,000 L tank, diesel-electric hybrid drive, and a multi-sensor (RTK + LiDAR + millimetre-wave radar + machine vision) navigation stack with switchable remote-control or full-autonomous operation. Sold FOB China from China (from roughly US$60,000 on the manufacturer's own B2B storefront); no EU dealer, machine-specific CE declaration, or named European installation was found, despite manufacturer marketing content referencing Spanish, French, Italian, Polish and Austrian orchards.
Best for: Large orchard or vineyard operators able to import directly from China and self-manage logistics, customs, and any EU compliance paperwork themselves.Norwegian autonomous UV-C robot that replaces fungicide sprays for powdery mildew control — working at night in UK tabletop strawberries (used by 13 leading growers, around 20–30% of the national tabletop crop) and California vineyards, where over 150 Thorvald 3.0 units ran the 2025 season. Delivered as a service rather than a machine sale, with a vineyard-specific model launched for 2026.
Best for: Larger tabletop strawberry and wine-grape operations in Saga's service regions (UK, US) wanting to cut fungicide programmes without buying or operating robots themselves.| S1000 Verified 2026-07-19 | Thorvald Verified 2026-07-17 | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Task | Spraying | Spraying |
| Autonomy | Fully autonomous | Fully autonomous |
| Country of origin | China | Norway |
| Availability | Available now | Available now |
| EU market | Pending | CE-marked |
| Lead time | ~4 wk | Not disclosed |
| Last verified | 2026-07-19 | 2026-07-17 |
| Specifications | ||
| Power source | Diesel-electric hybrid — 44 kW four-cylinder diesel engine + generator + 7.2 kWh lithium battery (extended-range design) | Battery-electric · 48 V Li-Ion 70 Ah (space for a second battery) · charges from a regular outlet |
| Required tractor power | Not required — self-propelled tracked platform | Not required (self-propelled modular platform) |
| Dimensions | 4490 x 1720 x 1920 mm (L x W x H), tracked chassis (manufacturer listing gives a close variant of 4430 x 1730 x 2100 mm elsewhere — minor inter-listing discrepancy) | Modular platform; configuration-dependent, not disclosed |
| Weight | 2,500 kg (manufacturer B2B listing; may include export packaging) | ~200 kg |
| Min farm size | Not disclosed — marketed for large-scale orchard operations (high-density apple blocks, wide citrus rows) but no minimum-hectare figure published | Not disclosed |
| Productivity | 850 L/ha spray application rate at 3 km/h working speed; ≥8 hours continuous operation per tank/charge | Fleet-scale service: ~2,500 acres of US vineyard treated; ~20% of UK tabletop strawberry crop |
| Max speed | 0-5 km/h | Typically under 5 km/h in operation |
| Sensors | 5D fusion navigation (RTK + LiDAR + millimetre-wave radar + machine vision + inertial sensing); 360° obstacle detection for people/animals/barriers; ±5 cm positioning accuracy (manufacturer listing) | Autonomous navigation stack; crop-counting cameras (up to 3 million crop counts per robot per night, vendor claim) |
| Price & model | ||
| Price (EUR) | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Native price | US$60,000-90,000 (FOB China, manufacturer B2B storefront; MOQ 2 units) | Not disclosed |
| Business model | Direct export sale via the manufacturer (Jiangsu Lanjiang Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd., Nanjing, China) and its B2B storefronts; FOB pricing with a minimum order of 2 units and a roughly 30-day lead time. No EU-based dealer or sales entity was found. | UV-C treatment as a service — Saga deploys, operates and maintains robot fleets; growers pay for treatment rather than buying machines |
| Ongoing cost | Not disclosed — no published consumable or running-cost figures (diesel, battery replacement, nozzle wear) were found beyond the manufacturer's 1-year local spare-parts commitment. | Service fee (not published); no grower-side machine ownership |
| Key outcome | ||
| Best verified result | — No verified outcome | Fungicide use for powdery mildew −70–100% pesticide use (vendor claim) · vendor |
| EU context | ||
| CE marking | Manufacturer's B2B trade listing (made-in-china.com storefront) states the company is "certified by 3C, CE, and ISO quality management system" — a general company-level claim, not a machine-specific CE declaration or document; not independently confirmed. | CE status not published; UV-C units carry light-exposure safety interlocks for night operation |
| Machinery Regulation | No evidence of EU placing-on-market found; would fall under Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 autonomous-machine provisions if the machine were sold into the EU. | Placed on the EU/UK market by Saga Robotics; Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 autonomous-machine provisions apply |
| CAP subsidy | Not addressed — China-export machine with plant-protection application only; no CAP eco-scheme linkage found. | Large pesticide reduction supports EU pesticide-reduction and eco-scheme goals (service currently UK/US/NO, not EU-27) |
"—" 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.