Polybot GmbH
"Future-proofing humanity's food production."
Tuebingen AI start-up from ELLIS and Max Planck research building a learning-based robot to harvest truss tomatoes, first deliveries planned 2027.
Polybot GmbH is a German robotics start-up based in Tuebingen, Baden-Wuerttemberg, registered at the Stuttgart local court under HRB 803137, with Martin Kiefel as managing director. It develops autonomous, dexterous robots for food production, starting with high-value greenhouse crops. The company emerged from research supported by the Tuebingen AI Center of the University of Tuebingen, the ELLIS Institute Tuebingen and the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems. The team includes Martin Kiefel, Maike Kaufman, Claudio Michaelis, Sebastian Blaes and Elias Atahi, with Wieland Brendel, Georg Martius and Paul Hofmann as advisors.
In February 2025 the German Federal Agency for Breakthrough Innovation (SPRIND) awarded the Polybot project a seven-month validation contract worth about EUR 220,000 to evaluate its AI technology on harvesting and prepare the transfer from research to a company; Wieland Brendel of the ELLIS Institute led the project and Martin Kiefel was technical lead. The approach combines computer vision, robot mechanics and a precise manipulator with a machine learning pipeline that lets the robot learn new tasks from farmer demonstrations instead of manual programming. Weeding, pruning and picking of tomatoes or cucumbers were named as further tasks.
Polybot's first product is a fully autonomous truss tomato harvesting robot. According to the company, lab development started in January 2025, the first tomato was picked autonomously in a greenhouse in May, and full rows were harvested reliably by December. An integrated operational pilot was planned for summer 2026, with first systems to be delivered in early 2027. Partners and supporters include ELLIS, the Tuebingen AI Center, the Max Planck Society, the University of Tuebingen and SPRIND, and the project has been covered by ARD Tagesthemen and Der Spiegel.
Primary type & automation activities this supplier delivers:
Truss tomato harvesting robot
- Launch Year: 2027
Fully autonomous AI harvester for greenhouse truss tomatoes; pilot 2026, first deliveries early 2027.
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Contact Polybot GmbH
WEBSITE
https://polybot.eu/HEADQUARTERS
Germany
Company Facts
Founded
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Primary Role
Manufacturer
Company Size
-
Primary Region
Europe
Annual Sales
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Funding Stage
Grant / Non-profit
Funding Total
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