On a sunny Wednesday in late August, the small German town of Osnabrück became the epicenter of agritech innovation as Nature Robots, a burgeoning company specializing in autonomous agricultural solutions, opened its doors for a demonstration day. The event showcased the company’s latest developments and innovations, offering a glimpse into the future of farming technology. However, the day was marked as much by what was said as by what was shown.
Nature Robots, as it turns out, is not primarily a hardware company. “We see ourselves more as a software-oriented than a hardware-oriented company,” explained Gerrit Woeckner, COO and co-founder of Nature Robots. The company is deeply involved in writing and testing control programs for autonomous vehicles. The robots they have built serve primarily as testbeds for their software and for demonstration purposes, rather than as market-ready products. This focus on software is a strategic choice, reflecting the company’s belief in the power of intelligent algorithms to drive agricultural innovation.
One of the key technologies that Nature Robots is developing is a sophisticated navigation system for autonomous vehicles. This system leverages two primary technologies: RTK-GPS and lidar. RTK-GPS provides precise positioning data, while lidar, which stands for Light Detection and Ranging, uses laser beams to create detailed three-dimensional maps of the environment. Lidar is particularly useful in situations where GPS signals are weak or unavailable, such as under solar panels, between trees, or in areas with poor coverage. By combining GPS and lidar, Nature Robots’ vehicles can navigate complex environments with ease, avoiding obstacles and adjusting their routes as needed.
The company’s commitment to safety is evident in their use of lidar as a smart safety protection system. This technology allows the robots to anticipate and avoid obstacles, potentially eliminating the need for emergency stops and resets. However, the lidar system has not yet been approved as a safety detection system, so a secondary system is in place to ensure the robot’s safety in case the lidar fails.
Despite the company’s software focus, Nature Robots has also developed a new robot, the Lero.03. This machine features a fixed track width of between 1.5 and 4 meters, a ground clearance of 1.5 meters, and can operate for 8 to 12 hours on a single battery charge. The Lero.03 is equipped with both GPS and lidar navigation systems and has a maximum speed of 5 km/h. However, the demonstration day was marred by technical difficulties, as the Lero.03 experienced a fault that left it largely inactive for the day.
In addition to the Lero.03, Nature Robots showcased a laser weeder developed in collaboration with the Laser Zentrum Hannover (LZH). This innovative tool is designed to be mounted under the robot and uses laser technology to target and eliminate weeds. The LZH is working to optimize the laser’s energy efficiency by drying out weeds rather than boiling them, a process that could make the laser weeder more sustainable and cost-effective.
The company’s vision extends beyond weed control. Nature Robots plans to develop a range of implements for the Lero.03, including a mechanical weeder, and eventually aims to create a fully autonomous solution for arable farming. This includes not just weed control, but also sowing, harvesting, and the ability to autonomously change implements. “We want to put the weed control into practice in the second quarter of 2026, sowing and implement changing should be practice-ready in about 1.5 years,” said Woeckner. Harvesting, however, remains a longer-term goal with no specific timeline.
The demonstration day in Osnabrück offered a tantalizing glimpse into the future of agriculture, but it also highlighted the challenges that Nature Robots faces. The company’s focus on software is a strategic choice, but it also means that they are playing catch-up in the hardware department. Competitors like Earth Rover and Farmdroid are already making waves in the market, and Nature Robots will need to demonstrate the practical applications of their technology to stay competitive.
As the agricultural industry continues to evolve, companies like Nature Robots are at the forefront of innovation. Their work in autonomous navigation, laser weeding, and software development has the potential to revolutionize the way we farm, making it more efficient, sustainable, and productive. However, the path to success is not without its obstacles, and only time will tell whether Nature Robots will emerge as a leader in the agritech industry or remain a behind-the-scenes supplier of software to other manufacturers.