Polybot's Autonomous Tomato Harvester Learns From Humans
Polybot, a German robotics company, is building an autonomous tomato harvester that learns from human demonstrations. First systems are planned for 2027.
Photo source:
Polybot
Polybot's Autonomous Tomato Harvester Learns From Humans
Polybot
GmbH is a robotics company in Tübingen, Germany, that is developing an
autonomous tomato harvester. Its page describes a "fully autonomous truss
tomato harvester starting 2027," built first for greenhouses. Truss
tomatoes grow in clusters on one vine stem. The company's headline is
"Future-proofing humanity's food production," and its longer-term
goal is diversified, resilient polyculture farming, which means growing a mix
of crops together. The page says Polybot will deliver its first systems in early
2027. It mentions no sales, ordering or waitlist, so the product is not yet
available.
Learning to Harvest From People
Polybot
says its robots learn harvesting end-to-end from humans, using a data-driven
approach. End-to-end means the robot learns the whole task from examples
instead of following separate hand-written steps. The company says the same
approach lets the robot learn new tasks and crops from human demonstrations.
The page describes the harvesting as dexterous and calls the robot fast, gentle
on produce and reliable. The German version of the page calls the approach
radically data-driven and says the aim is automation as skillful and versatile
as humans. Polybot starts with high-value greenhouse crops, where it says labor
costs are high and workers are scarce, then plans to move toward diversified
agriculture.
From Lab to Greenhouse and Its Backers
The
page lays out a short timeline. Lab development began in January 2025. The
robot then picked its first tomato autonomously in a greenhouse in May, and it
harvested full rows reliably by December. An integrated operational pilot is
planned for summer 2026, and the page does not say whether it has taken place.
The first systems are due in early 2027, and the company says it works closely
with growers. Polybot invites contact through an online form, and it is
recruiting for open roles. The page lists the Max Planck Society, the
University of Tübingen and SPRIN-D among its supporters, along with Ellis and
TUE AI.
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