Canadian agtech company SAMI Robotics is moving its autonomous broccoli harvesting technology beyond the prototype stage and toward broader commercial deployment after successfully harvesting marketable produce under real farming conditions. The scalable platform uses 12 to 18 robotic arms operating simultaneously, with AI and machine vision identifying individual vegetables that meet harvesting criteria before picking them. Each robotic arm can complete a broccoli picking cycle in under three seconds, while the modular architecture allows machine capacity to be configured around different field layouts and production requirements. SAMI says broccoli is already commercially available as an application, following successful harvesting and sale of produce in Québec during the 2025 season.
Rather than developing a dedicated robot for every vegetable, SAMI is building a common multi-crop robotic platform whose perception, autonomy and machine architecture can support different applications. Romaine lettuce is currently the next most advanced harvesting application, while iceberg lettuce, cauliflower and artichoke are also on the development roadmap. The company has been selected for the first Western Growers Center for Innovation & Technology-sponsored residency at Reservoir Farms in Salinas, California, providing access to commercial growing environments for further validation and refinement.
Bottom Line: The strategically important element is SAMI’s attempt to solve one of agricultural robotics’ fundamental economic problems: machine utilisation. A robot dedicated exclusively to one crop and one short harvesting window can struggle to generate sufficient annual operating hours to justify its investment. SAMI’s longer-term concept is instead a platform capable of moving between crops and eventually between operations such as harvesting, weeding, thinning, fertilising and targeted pest control. If that architecture proves commercially scalable, the value proposition shifts from selling a robotic broccoli harvester toward providing a multi-purpose autonomous farm worker whose capabilities can expand through different tools and applications.
