Key Takeaways
- Saga Robotics has scaled from a Norwegian research initiative into commercial deployments across UK strawberries and California vineyards.
- UV-C robots operate at night to manage fungal disease, reducing fungicide use and improving operational flexibility for growers.
- Growers report reduced crop loss, better plant health, and labour efficiencies linked to immediate post-treatment access.
- Saga Robotics is expanding into multi-function robotics, integrating data-driven tools and pest management applications.
- The company sees long-term opportunities in berries, wine regions, apples, and select international markets.
How Saga Robotics Evolved from Academic Research to a Global Operation: A Conversation With Pål Johan From
Saga Robotics’ story began in a university setting, where Pål Johan From led a research group dedicated to agricultural robotics. “I was a professor in agricultural robotics… and we developed quite a bit of technology,” he explained during the interview. After several years of small but steady progress, a significant investment round in 2020 marked the transition from research to commercial deployment.
Originally founded in Norway, the company quickly identified the UK as its first major market. Strawberry growers there faced ongoing pressure from powdery mildew and were open to adopting new technologies. Uniform production infrastructure — with most growers relying on similar tunnels and table systems — helped accelerate early scaling.
Grower adoption was gradual but consistent. Today, the company’s robots treat around 20% of all strawberries grown under tunnels in the UK, a figure expected to rise to 30% next season. The company also treated almost 1300 acres of grapevines in California and is planning to triple this next season — making it one of the largest autonomous robotic disease-control deployments in horticulture.
Nighttime UV-C Treatments and Operational Efficiency
Saga Robotics’ approach is built around UV-C light treatments, which damage fungal DNA. Nighttime operation is essential: as Pål Johan From explained, “They have a repair mechanism that needs blue light… if there’s no light available, we’re much more efficient.” As a result, all robots run autonomously at night across both UK strawberry farms and California vineyards.
Immediate operational advantages for growers include:
- dramatic reductions in fungicide use
- elimination of spray intervals
- more predictable production cycles
- fewer crop losses linked to chemical resistance
In California, strawberries and wine grapes account for a disproportionately large share of fungicide applications. For many growers, switching to UV-C treatment has helped reduce exposure to chemical inputs and mitigate resistance-driven yield losses.
Beyond disease control, growers have reported improvements in plant health and reductions in mite pressure. Saga Robotics discovered that UV-C treatments indirectly suppress mites, reducing the need for miticides — an unexpected value driver for customers.
Expanding Robotic Capabilities and Multi-Function Platforms
The industry trend toward multi-function robotics is something Saga Robotics anticipated early. Growers increasingly prefer a single platform capable of performing several tasks rather than managing multiple single-purpose machines.
To meet this demand, Saga Robotics has expanded testing and development in several areas:
- yield prediction and disease detection using high-frequency imaging
- predatory mite dispensing to support integrated pest management
- runner cutting in strawberries
- exploration of additional disease suppression, including botrytis, downy mildew, and sour rot
Because the robots travel over each plant every four days, the data collection opportunities are greater than with any tractor-based or manual scouting system. “We can detect diseases much sooner than any other system out there,” From noted.
This high-frequency model — lighter tasks executed consistently — represents a departure from conventional agricultural machinery. While heavy implements focus on infrequent, high-intensity operations, robotic fleets enable continuous, precise, and repeatable interventions throughout the growing cycle.
Business Model, Data Considerations, and Grower Adoption
Saga Robotics uses a service-based commercial model, charging growers per acre per season. This approach has proven especially valuable for vineyards, where capital budgets are constrained. “There’s no heavy capital outlay,” From said, emphasizing that growers can adopt the technology without large upfront expenses.
On data concerns — a topic often raised by US growers — Pål Johan From noted that Saga Robotics has not encountered significant hesitation. Growers understand that shared data enables more accurate predictions and improved disease models. “The value that we create is potentially so much higher,” he said, referencing yield forecasting and in-season decision support.
Saga Robotics does not share identifiable grower information with third parties and is engaged in discussions with farm management software providers to explore future integrations.
Looking Toward 2035: Pål Johan From’ Long-Term Vision
When asked where the company might be a decade from now, Pål Johan From projected continued expansion across current and future crop categories. He expects Saga Robotics to be “pretty dominant in the markets that we’re already dominant in… and in all major wine and strawberry regions.”
Future priorities include:
- expansion into berries, vines, and modern apple production
- further geographic growth across Europe, North America, and markets like Australia
- a wider suite of farm operations executed autonomously
While harvesting is unlikely to be part of Saga Robotics’ long-term strategy — with specialized machinery and labour still playing a role — most other operations could eventually shift to autonomous, high-frequency robots. This includes routine crop protection, scouting, and pest management applications.
Looking ahead, the company sees strong growth potential in regions that combine large acreage with high disease pressure, including the western United States, Australia, and parts of Europe. As From noted, markets with both strawberries and wine grapes offer particularly compelling opportunities.
