FarmDroid FD20 & FD60 Solar Seeding and Weeding Robots

FarmDroid is a Danish company based in southern Denmark, formally founded in spring 2018 by brothers Jens Vest Warming and Kristian Warming after years of hand weeding on their family's organic farm. It builds solar-powered autonomous field robots that seed and mechanically weed row crops without herbicides, addressing labour shortages and chemical dependence in vegetable and arable farming.

The FD20 robot places every seed with 8 mm RTK GPS precision and remembers each position, so it can weed between and within rows before plants emerge without cameras. Four solar panels charge two batteries for 18 to 24 hours of daily work. Add-on modules cover seeding, mechanical weeding and MikroSpray spot or band spraying, and a Field Setup Tool and mobile app handle mapping and monitoring. The larger FD60 adds a range extender for farms of around 60 ha. More than 500 robots have been sold in 26 countries.

• RTK GPS seeding: places each seed with 8 mm precision and stores its coordinates.
• Camera-free weeding: removes weeds between and within rows using recorded seed positions, even before emergence.
• Solar power: four panels and two batteries support 18 to 24 hours of field work per day.
• MikroSpray add-on: spot or band sprays plant protection products only where needed.
• Wide crop range: seeds and weeds more than 100 crops with row spacing from 22.5 cm to 90 cm.
• App monitoring: native app sends progress and fault notifications, and the robot stops itself on deviations.

Organic vegetable farms in Lam Dong can use FD20 to seed and weed carrots, onions or leafy greens without herbicides. Seed companies and agricultural cooperatives can run FD20 fleets on contract fields to cut weeding labour. Export-oriented farms can use MikroSpray to lower pesticide residues for markets with strict limits.

Targeted MikroSpray application is stated to cut chemical use by up to 94%, and FarmDroid claims yield gains of up to 40%. One FD20 covers up to 6 ha per day and runs 18 to 24 hours on stored solar energy, reducing hired weeding labour. At 1,250 kg it limits soil compaction compared with heavy machinery, and the company cites payback periods averaging 2 to 3 years.

Farm labour is getting scarcer and pressure to cut herbicide use is rising, which favours light, low-emission robots for row crops. In Vietnam and Southeast Asia, vegetable and organic producers serving export and modern retail channels face similar pressure on labour costs and pesticide residues, opening room for solar-powered seeding and weeding automation.

Formally founded in spring 2018 in southern Denmark; first FD20 sold in spring 2019. More than 500 robots sold in 26 countries through distributors. Awards include SIMA Innovation Award 2021, Zloty Medal 2022 and SIVAL Innovation 2022 (silver). Carries the COVR safe-around-robots mark.