Thorvald strawberry robot closes biggest season to date

Saga Robotics, the company behind the Thorvald robot used on UK strawberry farms, has completed its biggest season to date in the US and UK.

In the UK, Thorvald robots were deployed across 20 per cent of the tabletop strawberry sector during the 2025 season, while in California they covered almost 1,300 acres of vineyards.

Across both regions, more than 150 robots operated at 97 percent uptime, logging over 200,000 autonomous kilometers, the equivalent of circling the Earth five times. That’s more than triple the distance compared to the previous season.

From UV-C disease control to precision data collection, Thorvald delivers automated services that help growers boost yield, cut labour costs, and reduce chemical use.

“What we do isn’t easy,” said Professor Pål Johan From, saga’s founder and US general manager. “The UV-C light we use doesn’t just kill powdery mildew. It disrupts fungal DNA at the molecular level.

“Precision is everything. Too little, and the fungal disease will recover, which could lead to an outbreak. Too much applied incorrectly, and you risk reducing plant performance.

“This season alone, our robots completed over 80,000 operational hours. After years of research and large-scale deployment, we’ve mastered both timing and dosage. Every pass is calculated. Every dose is optimised. And it is all built on science, backed by decades of trials and commercial operations.”

Following a strong season in both the US and UK, Saga said all its existing customers will continue using the tech, and in many cases expand treatment areas into next season.

In California, Saga Robotics is tripling its vineyard coverage and introducing a new vineyard-specific Thorvald robot, engineered for the demands of American viticulture.

This next-generation model features upgraded suspension, larger wheels, and automatic tilt compensation, enabling better performance in steep or uneven terrain. It is built for improved coverage with the aim of giving customers better protection against powdery mildew.

Saga Robotics is also launching a new data service designed to change how vineyards plan their harvest. As Thorvald moves down each row, it now detects and counts grape clusters automatically, replacing manual scouting with real-time crop load insights and giving managers earlier and more accurate information.

The same data platform has already been launched in UK strawberry production in partnership with Chambers Farm and Bitwise. Each Thorvald robot counted over three million fruits and flowers per night, delivering detailed, row-level insights at scale.

Saga Robotics is in discussion with a number of UK customers to significantly increase the area over which they provide data services for the 2026 season.

“I am actually now surprised how quickly our business is adopting this technology; it isn’t as difficult as I expected,” said Chambers COO Salih Hodzhov. “The results are enabling us to scale faster. In my opinion, if you grow strawberries on tabletops, you must have this technology.”

In 2025 Saga Robotics completed its largest UV-C season in the UK, backed by a series of operational upgrades. Thorvald robots now travel in autonomous convoys, navigate more safely with enhanced object detection, and are monitored in real time through a 24/7 operations centre, with growers benefitting from live dashboards and dedicated support teams.

Next season, Saga Robotics is aiming for 30 per cent market coverage in the UK tabletop strawberry sector. Growth will continue with existing customers in the regions already being treated.

Saga Robotics is scaling responsibly, maintaining what it calls “a clear focus on service quality and strong unit economic over aggressive land expansion”.

“We’re focused on delivering reliable, repeatable results across commercial farming,” said Saga CEO Sacha de La Noë. “Our technology is performing under pressure, season after season, and we’re positioning the company for long-term success by scaling responsibly and improving our unit economics. At the same time, the environmental impact is already clear, and this season’s results show the difference Thorvald is making.”

This season, Saga Robotics calculated that it had eliminated 133 tonnes of fungicides, avoided 4,450 tonnes of CO₂ emissions, and removed 85,200 hours of worker exposure to chemicals.