Robovator vs TOR laser weeder
Two weeding machines, one verified table. Every figure below is sourced and dated; vendor claims are labelled and kept apart from independent results.
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).First Dutch laser weeding robot, launched June 2025 by Trabotyx (Maarssen) — an autonomous GPS-RTK platform that kills weeds as small as 1 mm with blue diode lasers (adjustable to 200 W each, up to 6 lasers per machine), zero-till and chemical-free. Trained for nine vegetables (carrots, onions, lettuce, cabbage, herbs, spinach, beet, parsnip, chicory) and three flower-bulb crops (lilies, tulips, peonies), with under 2% crop hit rate. The TOR Flex works a 1.5 m width; production is capped at 10 machines for the 2026 season.
Best for: Dutch organic and low-input vegetable and flower-bulb growers who want chemical-free, zero-till in-row weed control — the laser removes weeds mechanical hoes miss without disturbing soil, and the vendor claims ~91% fewer weeds versus conventional practice.| Robovator Verified 2026-07-18 | TOR laser weeder Verified 2026-07-17 | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Task | Weeding | Weeding |
| Autonomy | AI-assisted | Fully autonomous |
| Country of origin | Denmark | Netherlands |
| Availability | Available now | Available now |
| EU market | Pending | CE-marked |
| Lead time | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Last verified | 2026-07-18 | 2026-07-17 |
| Specifications | ||
| Power source | Tractor-mounted implement, PTO-driven hydraulics (~1 hp per row) | Battery-electric with solar panel; swappable battery, ~10 h operation at standard weed density |
| Required tractor power | 3-point-hitch mounted; requires tractor PTO shaft speed of at least 420 rpm (hydraulic pressure and lamps cut out below ~360 rpm) | Is the vehicle (autonomous laser-weeding platform) |
| Dimensions | 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 | Working width 1.5 m (TOR Flex); 1.8 m and 3.0 m versions announced |
| Weight | 700 kg (1,500 lb) base weight | Not disclosed |
| Min farm size | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Productivity | 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) | ~1.3 ha/day autonomous; ~1 ha per 18.5 h at 360 m/h at standard weed density |
| Max speed | 2–8 km/h (1.2–5 mph) | 360–500 m/h working speed |
| Sensors | 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) | Camera AI crop/weed discrimination (crop hit rate <2% on trained crops) · GPS-RTK navigation |
| Price & model | ||
| Price (EUR) | Not disclosed | from €214,000 |
| Native price | Not disclosed | from €214,000 (TOR Flex) + €14,980/yr service, support and maintenance |
| Business model | 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) | Direct sale by Trabotyx B.V.; maximum 10 machines available for the 2026 season; Dutch robotics subsidy rounds have applied |
| Ongoing cost | Wear parts (weeding knives/blades, camera lens care), hydraulic fluid and PTO shaft maintenance; no software subscription published | €14,980 per year service, support and maintenance; battery cycling |
| Key outcome | ||
| Best verified result | Intra-row weed removal vs. a standard cultivator +18 to +41 percentage points · independent | Weed pressure -91% · vendor |
| EU context | ||
| CE marking | 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) | Dutch-built machine launched commercially June 2025; CE marking not independently verified |
| Machinery Regulation | Tractor-mounted implement falling under the EU Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230; the tractor operator remains in control at all times | EU-built series product; conformity route under the EU machinery regime not published |
| CAP subsidy | Herbicide-free/reduced mechanical in-row weeding supports CAP eco-scheme and organic-conversion measures | Chemical-free zero-till weeding supports CAP eco-scheme and organic goals; Dutch national robotics subsidies have covered TOR purchases |
"—" 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.