DEPLOYDatabase

Robot model

Tom

Small Robot Company (UK) builds Tom, a lightweight autonomous farmbot that surveys arable fields at the per-plant level, generating detailed maps of crop…

Form factor
agriculture
Maturity
pilot
Lifecycle
active
Deployments
3

The verified answer

As of Aug 2026, DEPLOY verifies Tom, a agriculture by Small Robot Company (pilot): 3 verified deployments on record. 2 sources back the record.

Overview

Small Robot Company (UK) builds Tom, a lightweight autonomous farmbot that surveys arable fields at the per-plant level, generating detailed maps of crop health, weed locations, and soil conditions. Tom is designed to cause minimal soil compaction compared to conventional farm machinery, and the data it collects guides companion robots Dick (targeted weeding) and Harry (precision drilling and planting). The company offers its robots via a Farming as a Service subscription model.

Verified vs. claimed

Maturity stage
pilot(Small-scale deployment in controlled or trial conditions.)
Sources on file
View all sources →

Key facts

Autonomy level

autonomous

Function

per-plant field mapping and crop scouting

Service model

Farming as a Service

Specs

Battery

6.24 kWh

Function

per-plant field mapping and crop scouting

Max speed

1.5 m/s

Weight kg

350.6

Service model

Farming as a Service

Autonomy level

autonomous

Data & sources

Web sources

2

2 sources backing this record.View all →

Autonomy: verified vs claimed

What it actually does
Autonomous

Pricing

No verified price is on record for Tom. Physical-AI systems are often sold through enterprise contracts or operated as a service rather than at a public list price.

Deployments (3)

  • The Lockerley Estate in Hampshire ran Small Robot Company's per-plant robots as part of a regenerative farming strategy, named as a commercial customer at the April 2021 launch, with the farm manager citing black-grass…

  • Small Robot Company ran the Tom monitoring robot and Dick weeding prototype at the National Trust's Wimpole Estate (Wimpole Home Farm, a roughly 1,500-acre organic farm) in Cambridgeshire, named as a customer at the…

  • Small Robot Company's flagship trial ran on the Waitrose & Partners farm at the Leckford Estate, Hampshire, beginning with a three-year trial announced December 2018 that tested the Tom monitoring robot alongside the…

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Tom on the deployment map

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Where Tom is verified operating. Explore the deployment map by place and type.

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Recent activity

Every change to this record is dated, sourced, and independently verified where marked.

Full change history →

Safety record

No incidents on record for Tom.

Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.

Sources (2)

  1. Small Robot Company - Tom Farmbot · https://www.smallrobotcompany.com/
  2. https://medium.com/smallrobotcompany/small-robot-co-launches-tom-v4-next-generation-monitoring-robot-56b2f224d247

Common questions

What is Tom?
Small Robot Company (UK) builds Tom, a lightweight autonomous farmbot that surveys arable fields at the per-plant level, generating detailed maps of crop health, weed locations, and soil conditions. Tom is designed to cause minimal soil compaction compared to conventional farm machinery, and the data it collects guides companion robots Dick (targeted weeding) and Harry (precision drilling and planting). The company offers its robots via a Farming as a Service subscription model.
How much does Tom cost?
Tom's price is not publicly disclosed. DEPLOY has no verified price on record for Tom from Small Robot Company. Physical-AI systems like this are often sold through enterprise contracts or operated as a service rather than at a public list price; check the manufacturer for the latest.
Is Tom actually deployed in the real world?
Yes. Tom is independently verified in real-world operation on the DEPLOY registry, confirmed at named deployment sites with primary sources: not a concept, render, or demo-only.
What are the specs of Tom?
Tom's recorded specifications on the DEPLOY registry: Battery: 6.24 kWh; Max speed: 1.5 m/s; Weight: 350.6 kg. See the Specs section for the full sourced set.
Who makes Tom?
Tom is made by Small Robot Company, based in Shropshire, United Kingdom, founded in 2016.
Where is Tom deployed?
3 verified deployments of Tom are on the DEPLOY registry, including at Lockerley Estate, Wimpole Estate, Leckford Estate.
Can you buy Tom?
Tom is in pilot deployments with named customers and is not yet broadly for sale.
What are alternatives to Tom?
On the DEPLOY registry, comparable agriculture robots to Tom include VMS V310, Solinftec Solix Ag Robotics, Ted, ARA.
How does Tom compare to VMS V310?
Tom and VMS V310 (DeLaval · 9 deployments) are both agriculture robots on the DEPLOY registry. Tom has 3 verified deployments on record. Compare both records for specs, safety, deployments, and verified-vs-claimed autonomy.
Is Tom a top agriculture?
On DEPLOY's intelligence score, which blends verified deployments, safety, adoption, media, and IP signals, Tom ranks in roughly the top 13% of agriculture models tracked by the registry.
What is Tom's maturity stage?
Tom is at the pilot stage on the DEPLOY maturity ladder (research, prototype, pilot, commercial, production). Pilot stage means at least one named-customer trial deployment is verified.
Is Tom safe?
Tom has no incidents on record in the DEPLOY registry. This does not constitute a safety guarantee; it reflects the incidents DEPLOY has tracked and verified to date.
Methodology: Verified · 2 sources (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-07-22

Verification posture

Verified

Low confidence

Review state

Stable

Last reviewed 2026-07-22

Maturity + lifecycle

Maturity stage: pilot

Lifecycle: active

Architectural position

Cohort: agriculture

Sources by quality tier

2
unclassified
Unclassified source

The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.

Methodology surface for Tom.

Recent coverage

Tom in third-party press