Autonomous olive harvesting robot.
Olivotics builds a compact robot that harvests olives autonomously in traditional groves. No crew and no skilled operator needed. Costs under €20k.
Concept image · Unveiling at our 2027 field test
Olive farmers are running out of options.
Harvesting costs eat up 50–80% of total production expenses. Workers are increasingly unavailable, and existing machinery is built for industrial farms.
Labour Shortage
Seasonal workers in rural Europe are harder to find every year. Labour costs rose 15–20% in the last three years. In Greece alone, 20–30% of olives went unharvested in 2022–23.
Existing Machines Are Too Big
Heavy tractor-shakers are designed for industrial orchards. They're too large, too aggressive, and too expensive for the 70% of European olive farms that are traditional and medium-scale.
Needs Operators
Current mechanical solutions require trained operators and full crews, which traditional groves can less and less find or afford.
"Finding workers for harvest is becoming impossible."— Olive producer, Abruzzo, Italy
A robot designed for real farms.
Olivotics is an olive harvesting robot designed for full autonomy, built from the ground up for traditional groves.
Position
The robot drives itself through the grove and positions itself at each tree.
Harvest
It gently detaches ripe olives from the canopy without harming the tree.
Collect
The olives are collected automatically, ready to empty — no ladders, no hand-picking.
Affordable enough to actually own
A target price under €20,000 — a fraction of an industrial harvester. Designed to pay for itself in a few seasons by replacing hired-labour costs.
Compact
Small enough to move between groves and work in narrow, irregular rows.
No Skilled Operator Required
Simple, electric-only, minimal maintenance. Anyone on the team can run it. No training course needed.
Gentle on Trees
Harvests without damaging branches or bark, so the tree stays healthy for the next season.
Eco-Friendly
Fully electric, zero emissions, no fuel. Lightweight design avoids soil compaction and root damage.
A massive, underserved opportunity.
70% of European olive farms are traditional. We build for these groves and sell to large traditional estates, harvesting contractors and cooperatives, which bring the robot to smaller farms too.
From prototype to field.
We're at the starting line with a clear plan and funding secured to get to a working demo within 9 months.
Validation & Preparation
Component sourcing, design finalisation, development environment setup, farm testing partner secured in Abruzzo.
In progressHuman-Controlled MVP
First field prototype, operated by a person and proven in the grove. Company incorporated, government grant programme begins.
Phase 1Towards Full Autonomy
Autonomous navigation and harvesting in controlled conditions. Field testing at partner groves in Slovenia, Croatia and Italy.
Phase 2First Real Harvest
Full field test during the 2027 olive harvest at our test sites in Slovenia, Croatia and Italy. Pilot contracts with partner farms. Performance data collected for product refinement.
MilestoneBuilt by farmers, for farmers.
Olivotics was founded by Daniele Zecchini, a Robotics & AI student who grew up harvesting olives in Italy. He started the project on his own and then built a team around it. We're not solving a problem we read about. We lived it.
We combine deep technical knowledge in robotics and AI with first-hand experience of what traditional olive farmers actually need: something affordable, simple, and that works without requiring a second career in engineering.
Our research and development is based in Carinthia, Austria, in collaboration with academic experts and olive farming communities across Southern Europe.
Let's build Olivotics together.
We're looking for olive groves to test in during the 2027 harvest. If you grow olives or run a cooperative or harvesting business, you can sign up your grove now. Research partners are welcome too.
-
Pilot Farms
Olive growers across Europe to test on real harvests, starting in Slovenia, Croatia and Italy.
-
Research Partners
Robotics, AI, and agronomy collaborators across Europe.
Interested in Olivotics?
Farmers, contractors and cooperatives: tell us about your grove and we'll send you the letter of intent for the 2027 field tests. Research partners, tell us a bit about yourself.
Our vor.GRÜNDEN project at the University of Klagenfurt is co-funded by the European Union (EFRE) and KWF. In 9 months we build our first working prototype, test it in a partner olive grove in Abruzzo and develop it towards full autonomy. Expected results: a field-tested prototype, performance data from real harvest conditions and the groundwork to found the company.
More information on the IBW/EFRE & JTF programme is available at www.efre.gv.at