Field Robots

Buying advice

From garden beds to arable rows

At our last update in October 2026, the Tertill (Franklin Robotics) was the lowest-priced listing here at about $350, while the Carbon Robotics LaserWeeder topped the page at about $1.2 million, and another two were quote-only. A spread that wide means the catalogue covers very different jobs, so begin with the area you need weeded each week and the value of the crop you are protecting. Read only the listings priced for that scale rather than comparing across the whole range. Ask each maker for the area it covers per working day in a crop like yours, then divide your expected yearly cost of ownership by the area you will genuinely treat. That figure is the one to set against your current hand-weeding or contractor bill.

Ask which parts of ISO 18497 apply

Autonomous farm machinery now has its own safety series. ISO 18497-1:2024 sets design principles and vocabulary for partially automated, semi-autonomous and autonomous agricultural machines, while ISO 18497-3:2024 covers the perception and supervisory systems that stop a machine leaving its autonomous operating zone. Ask each maker which parts of the series the design was assessed against, who carried out that assessment, and which residual risks the instructions pass on to you. Then walk your own field margins with that answer in hand, because ditches, footpaths, overhead lines and neighbouring stock are where a boundary failure would do harm. Part 3 leaves public roads outside its scope, so raise any road movement separately with your insurer.

Trial the vision system on your weeds

In their Weed Science review of intelligent weeding robots, Xu and colleagues identify machine vision and field navigation as the core technologies, whatever method the robot then uses to remove the weed. That makes recognition the part most likely to struggle on an unfamiliar farm. Before you commit, arrange an in-season trial on your own ground that covers an early flush, a later flush and a spell of wet weather. Ask how the maker retrains its models for a new crop or weed species, whether those updates are included in the price, who owns the images gathered on your land, and what happens to the machine's usefulness if the service contract lapses.

What to look for

• Weeding method: mechanical, laser or targeted spray, and how it suits your crops
• Row spacing, bed width and terrain the robot is designed to work in
• Runtime per charge or tank, and how the machine moves between fields

Common questions

Do field robots work in every crop?

No. Most are designed around particular crops, row spacings or bed systems. Check each listing's specifications and share your cropping plan when you request a quote.

Does someone need to stay with a field robot?

It depends on the machine and on local rules. Many run autonomously within a mapped area, with a person supervising nearby or remotely. Confirm the supervision model before you buy.

Sources and further reading

• ISO 18497-3:2024 Agricultural machinery and tractors: safety of automated and autonomous machinery, Part 3: Autonomous operating zones — International Organization for Standardization.
  Requirements for the perception and supervisory systems that keep autonomous farm machines inside their working zone.
• Key technologies and research progress of intelligent weeding robots — Weed Science (Cambridge University Press).
  Peer-reviewed review of machine vision and navigation in spraying, mechanical and thermal weeding robots.
• ISO 18497-1:2024 Agricultural machinery and tractors: safety of automated and autonomous machinery, Part 1 — International Organization for Standardization.
  Design principles and vocabulary for partially automated, semi-autonomous and autonomous farm machines and tractors.