Robovator vs Vitirover
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).French solar-powered micro-mower for vineyards, orchards and agrivoltaic sites — a 23–27 kg swarm robot that grazes vegetation at ~500 m/h, up to 16 h per day on sun and Li-ion. One 'shepherd' operator manages up to 50 robots from the Viticloud dashboard; born at Château Canon La Gaffelière in Saint-Émilion and sold outright or as Robot-as-a-Service.
Best for: Vignerons and orchardists wanting chemical-free under-vine and inter-row vegetation control with near-zero energy cost, especially as a managed fleet across parcels or solar farms.| Robovator Verified 2026-07-18 | Vitirover Verified 2026-07-17 | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Task | Weeding | Weeding |
| Autonomy | AI-assisted | Fully autonomous |
| Country of origin | Denmark | France |
| 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) | Solar + Li-ion · integrated panel gives 5–6 h/day; optional dock charges 8 h for 16 h work |
| 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) | Not required (self-propelled) |
| 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 | 75 × 40 × 30 cm |
| Weight | 700 kg (1,500 lb) base weight | 23–27 kg |
| 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) | ~500 m/h; ~1 ha per robot per ~10 days; fleets scale to 50 robots per operator |
| Max speed | 2–8 km/h (1.2–5 mph) | <1 km/h |
| 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) | Multi-constellation GNSS (GPS/GLONASS/BeiDou/Galileo) with Trimble MB-Two RTK/PPP · inertial sensors · dual RGB cameras |
| Price & model | ||
| Price (EUR) | Not disclosed | ~€10,000 |
| Native price | Not disclosed | ~€10,000 incl. charging station |
| 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) | Buy, or VAAS annual service subscription with fleet shepherding |
| Ongoing cost | Wear parts (weeding knives/blades, camera lens care), hydraulic fluid and PTO shaft maintenance; no software subscription published | VAAS: €2,100–€3,100 per robot per year; blades and wear parts if owned |
| Key outcome | ||
| Best verified result | Intra-row weed removal vs. a standard cultivator +18 to +41 percentage points · independent | Herbicide use for under-vine vegetation control Continuous chemical-free robotic grazing at 5–10 cm cut height · 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) | CE status not published; French manufacturer selling commercially in the EU |
| Machinery Regulation | Tractor-mounted implement falling under the EU Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230; the tractor operator remains in control at all times | Placed on the EU market by Vitirover SAS; Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 autonomous-machine provisions apply |
| CAP subsidy | Herbicide-free/reduced mechanical in-row weeding supports CAP eco-scheme and organic-conversion measures | Herbicide-free mechanical vegetation control supports CAP eco-scheme and herbicide-reduction 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.