Agricultural Humanoids · Part of The Humanoid Group
Farm robots are leaving the trial plot.
Weeders, autonomous tractors and drones now arrive with firm prices, delivery dates and rules to follow. The Humanoid Group helps farms compare them, plan the work and get them running.
Fendt offers autonomous grain-cart and tillage kits for its 900 and 1000 Vario tractors
· Deployment
Fendt introduced PTx OutRun retrofit packages that give its 900 and 1000 Vario tractors Level 4 monitored autonomy. OutRun Grain Cart handles hauling at harvest, and OutRun Tillage has been available since July 2026. The kits are offered in North America, Australia and South America.
Why it matters: Autonomy is arriving as bolt-on kits for tractors farms already own, which lowers the entry cost. Check which regions and models are covered, and who supports the kit, before planning a season around it.
FarmDroid opens orders for the FD60 seeding and weeding robot, with deliveries from 2027
· Launch
FarmDroid began taking orders on September 1 for the FD60, an autonomous robot that seeds and mechanically weeds row crops without herbicides. It covers up to 18 hectares a day at a working width up to 6.75 meters, roughly three times the smaller FD20. First deliveries are expected from January 2027.
Why it matters: Larger robots push mechanical weeding from market gardens toward arable acreage. With delivery in January 2027, winter is the time to confirm field layouts, satellite signal coverage and who will service the machine.
Versatile RobotX raises over £1 million for crop-harvesting robots after UK grower trials
· Funding
Versatile RobotX, a University of Essex spinout, secured over £1 million in blended funding: equity from the British Design Fund plus grants from Innovate UK and the Defra Farming Innovation Programme. Its harvesting robots have finished pilot trials with UK growers, and the money funds manufacturing preparation, wider crop trials and a robots-as-a-service model.
Why it matters: Harvest robots are still reaching growers through trials and service contracts rather than outright sales. A scoped pilot with agreed success measures, such as THG's Pilot program, shows what a machine does on your own crop first.
Defra-led review of automation in horticulture— Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. UK government review of how far automation can reduce seasonal labour needs in horticulture, with recommendations.