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Small Robot Company
Autonomous per-plant arable farming robot from Small Robot Company with 8-hour runtime and 3 km/h speed. Maps and monitors individual crop plants and applies micro-doses of herbicide or fertiliser with precision. Deployed on UK arable farms via a Farming-as-a-Service subscription model; reduces chemical inputs by up to 95 percent.
The Small Robot Company Tom is an autonomous per-plant arable farming robot developed by a UK-based agricultural technology company. Tom is designed to operate as a scouting and data-collection robot, traversing arable fields to identify individual plants, map crop health, detect weeds at the per-plant level, and generate the data that feeds precision intervention decisions. Operating at 3 km/h with an 8-hour runtime, Tom is optimised for continuous field surveys across a broad range of UK arable crops including wheat, barley, oilseed rape, and sugar beet.
Tom works in conjunction with the Small Robot Company's cloud platform, which processes scouting data into agronomic recommendations and task maps. These maps can be used to direct the companion Wilma weeding robot or to inform conventional machinery passes with variable-rate application.
Tom is most valuable on UK arable farms pursuing chemical reduction strategies, where accurate weed mapping enables spot treatment rather than blanket herbicide application. Return on investment is typically framed around input cost savings: a 90% reduction in herbicide application on a well-mapped field can pay for the scouting cost within a single season on larger arable units.
UK wheat and barley growers facing blackgrass pressure have been an early adopter group, as blackgrass requires precise mapping to target early interventions effectively. Tom is also relevant for integrated pest management (IPM) compliance, where growers must demonstrate targeted application.
There is currently a limited secondary market for Tom units. The platform is relatively young and most deployed robots remain under active service agreements. The cloud platform subscription is integral to Tom's value, so any used purchase would need to include a new subscription agreement with Small Robot Company.
| Weight | 30 kg |
| Max speed | 3 km/h |
| Battery runtime | 8 hr |