Cyclair GW Autonomous Weeding Robot

Cyclair is a French company located in Pressac, in the Vienne department, that has developed an autonomous weeding solution since 2020. It targets large-scale field crops where growers want alternatives to chemical herbicides.

The GW rover navigates autonomously with cameras and LiDAR rather than GPS, detects crop rows and recognizes species, and carries interchangeable mechanical tools such as hoes and ridging discs, with an optional spot-spraying module. Electric and thermal versions exist, and status and crop data go to the Cyclair Cloud. Sales go through approved distributors who install and maintain the robots.

• Autonomous navigation: cameras and LiDAR without GPS.
• Crop-row and species recognition: AI vision separates crops from weeds.
• Interchangeable tools: hoes, fingers, ridging discs and flexible cultivators.
• Two powertrains: electric (8 h) or thermal compatible with B100 biofuel (40 h).
• Optional spot spraying: complements mechanical weeding.
• Cyclair Cloud: remote status and crop data.

Large maize farms in the Central Highlands could pilot autonomous inter-row weeding. Agricultural machinery distributors could evaluate distribution or co-development for local crops. Seed and research farms could use it for herbicide-free plots.

Reduces reliance on chemical herbicides with centimetre-level mechanical weeding; the site claims a weeding rate above 80%. The electric version runs 8 hours or 8 ha and the thermal version 40 hours or 40 ha per charge or fill. Low-pressure tyres limit soil compaction. Distributors provide installation, maintenance and technician training.

Restrictions on herbicides and labor shortages are driving European demand for autonomous mechanical weeding. Vietnamese maize, vegetable and industrial-crop growers face similar herbicide-reduction and labor pressures, though row-crop machinery would need local adaptation and distribution partners.

Based in Pressac, France; developing its weeding solution since 2020. In June 2026 the cooperative group Océalia took a strategic minority stake and the partners submitted a proposal under France's PRAAM programme. Publicly funded under France 2030 and the EU FEDER/FSE 2021-2027 programme.