Finite Robotics sets 2027 Robothinner deployment and pricing

By Priya Raman

Finite Robotics plans to deploy 50 further-refined robotic arms across 10 autonomous rovers in 2027, with initial Robothinner service pricing targeted at CAN$363 per acre or CAN$20 per 1,000 removals.

That is the commercial part of a story that began with a hobby orchard. The 2027 plan moves Robothinner beyond demonstration, provided the remaining collision problem behaves itself. Prototype first is no longer the whole pitch.

From hobby orchard to robotics company

Amanda and Matt Stevens planted a small hobby orchard at Finite Farms in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, in 2020. As the orchard grew, they encountered the labour- and knowledge-intensive work involved in running a commercial apple operation.

In 2024, they founded Finite Robotics with their tech friend Mike Giannikouris. Matt Stevens’ background in growing a technology company, and the finite time available to fruit growers, shaped the move. The founders also purchased a commercial orchard in 2024.

At FIRA USA, one of the more surprising appearances, Finite Robotics showcased a prototype of the Robothinner for robotic apple thinning. Giannikouris said: “Our solution is intended to assist apple (for now) growers with an easy-to-integrate thinning service to help them thin apples after chemical and before hand thinning”.

That timing defines the intended role: an additional thinning service after chemical thinning and before hand thinning, rather than a replacement for common methods.

How the Robothinner cuts fruitlets

Finite Robotics began developing its vision system in 2024. It now relies on a ZED stereo camera, mounted on top of a more or less standard robotic arm, to identify the small apples, or fruitlets, eligible for thinning. The team has tested a wide variety of end-effector types.

The current end-effector uses one stainless steel tube rotating inside another, with knife-like edges at both ends of the tubes. The rotating movement cuts the targeted fruitlets.

Suction then draws the cut fruitlets into the inner tube. An opening in the robotic arm releases them on the ground. Collecting the fruitlets could become a future option, rather than leaving disposal as the final step.

Giannikouris explained the grower controls: “Hand thinning normally targets golf ball sized apples while we can distinguish the fruitlets to thin much sooner. We count the number of fruits before thinning and by using different tube sizes, we can target different sizes of fruitlets. Growers can set a target count and a target size for apples to remain after thinning.”

That gives growers two operating targets: how many apples should remain and what size they should reach. Different tube sizes also allow the system to select different fruitlet sizes. The earlier intervention matters because the machine can identify fruitlets before they reach the stage normally associated with hand thinning.

What the 2026 deployments revealed

In 2026, three autonomous platforms were built and deployed across 14 different orchards. Each platform carried multiple arms, incorporating thinning-logic developments based on expert growers’ feedback.

Each arm has a 1 by 1 metre reach and target area. The arms can be fitted closer together to increase thinning capacity, but the system still has to prevent contact and interference between neighbouring arms by accounting for their individual trajectories.

The vision system does not currently help with that collision issue. It can find the fruitlets; it cannot yet stop two nearby arms from interfering with each other. That engineering problem must be resolved as the fleet expands.

What changes for apple growers in 2027?

The 2027 deployment will place 50 further-refined robotic arms on 10 autonomous rovers. Finite Robotics intends to offer the system as a service, with interested growers paying per acre or per 1,000 removals. Initial pricing is targeted at CAN$363 per acre or CAN$20 per 1,000 removals.

What does this change for apple growers? It gives them a route into robotic thinning as a paid service rather than a machine they must buy outright. The immediate commercial choice is whether the per-acre or per-removal model better suits the orchard and its thinning target.

The larger test is reliability at fleet scale. Growers will need to see whether refined arm trajectories prevent interference, whether the ZED vision system holds up under repeated work, and whether the service pricing remains practical. Farmers should watch those points during the 2027 rollout, when 50 arms move from development into commercial orchard service.