Ullmanna

At a Glance:

• Smarter Weed Control – Where traditional laser-based weed removal systems struggle to eliminate bigger weeds, Ullmanna has no problems to work in these areas with its knives.

• Unmatched Visibility in Any Condition – Changing light can throw off most weed control systems, especially those with fixed lighting. Ullmanna’s AROW toolkit takes a more innovative route with adaptive LED lighting that adjusts on the fly—whether it’s midday sun or working after dark. With the ability to capture a lot of detailed images per second per row and process them in real time using Nvidia Jetson Nano chips, AROW assures faster, more accurate weed removal that protects crops and keeps operations running smoothly.

• More Crops, Less Hassle – Frequent manual adjustments (or “tuning”) are needed for many existing weeding machines when switching from one crop type to another. And these adjustments are often limited to a small set of pre-programmed crops. Ullmanna’s NEWMAN stands out because it’s designed to recognise a wide variety of crops—over 90—and can learn to identify new ones quickly, often within a few hours. This flexibility reduces the need for repeated manual tuning and makes the machine easier to deploy across different types of farms and crop rotations.

• No Setup Delays, Just Start Weeding, Very Easy to Handle – Setting up and adjusting traditional weeding machines can be time-consuming and complicated. Ullmanna’s NEWMAN streamlines this process with an intuitive, Wi-Fi-connected system. Each machine includes a tablet linked to the Powerbox, providing real-time status updates for the entire system. Operators can effortlessly select the crop, set weeding depth and fine-tune knife movements with precision.

If you’re an organic sugar beet farmer in Austria, Germany or elsewhere managing 50 hectares, staying compliant with organic farming standards typically means relying on manual weeding—a labour-intensive task that demands an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 labour hours per season. At €15 per hour, that amounts to an annual cost of up to €225,000. But what if you could cut up to 90 percent of that?

It may sound improbable, but Ullmanna’s AI-powered NEWMAN ecosystem has that level of efficiency.

The system includes, for instance, a six-row weeding machine mounted behind a tractor paired with the AROW toolkit—a compact AI vision solution equipped with 2D and 3D cameras, synchronised LED lighting, a computer and control software. Together, they enable precise in-row weeding, accurately identifying and removing weeds without harming crops.

This offers efficiency at scale. Operating, for example, at five kilometres per hour, Ullmanna’s AI-powered unit can weed an entire hectare in just one hour—a task that traditionally takes 200 to 400 labour hours per season, depending on weed density and crop type. A farm would require up to 50 manual labourers working full-time to achieve the same in a single day.

Such a leap in productivity translates directly into economic benefit. By replacing intensive manual labour with automation, the system offers the potential to reduce weeding costs by as much as 90 percent, a game-changer for large-scale organic operations that must comply with strict no-chemical weeding standards.

“Our system is highly automatic and operates smoothly— eliminating weeds, all while being user-friendly. The goal is to bring automation to farming, making it more scalable, efficient and truly sustainable for the future,” says Martin Ullmann, co founder and CEO.

The system is backed by a growing database of over 90 crop models and can learn to recognise a new crop within hours. It collects real-time data while the AROW toolkit processes it, enabling accurate root detection via the 2D camera and dynamic crop-height control through the 3D camera. Operators can define the desired weeding depth on a tablet, and the robotic knives adjust accordingly—no bulky wheels or mechanical depth gauges are required.

The result? Smoother operation, reduced soil compaction and consistent performance in all lighting conditions—from blazing midday sun to nighttime fieldwork.

Ullmanna offers the AROW toolkit as a standalone purchase for other manufacturers and companies—they can use the system to upgrade their current products.

An example of Ulmanna’s impact comes from an organic pumpkin grower in Austria managing 60 hectares. Weeding such a large area traditionally required a sizable workforce—expensive, time-consuming and difficult to coordinate. Seeking a more efficient approach, the grower turned to Ullmanna’s NEWMAN cultivator, which easily attaches to their existing tractor. After a simple setup using the built-in computer system to adjust settings for the crop, the NEWMAN system handled the rest. No more labour crews. No more logistical headaches. Just precise, automated weeding. The shift was immediate and significant for the grower—60 hectares managed with nearly no manual labour. The technology didn’t just reduce costs; it simplified operations and brought greater consistency to the field.

What began as a challenge from Martin’s agronomist father-in-law sparked the development of Ullmanna’s AI-powered weeding system. Drawing on his IT expertise and support from innovation grants in Czechia, Martin shifted from building entire machines to creating a scalable, camera-based solution. Today, Ullmanna develops all technology in-house and collaborates with equipment manufacturers across Europe and Japan, expanding into the U.S., Australia and the Middle East.

Combining deep agricultural insight with advanced AI, Ullmanna has delivered a practical, scalable system that meets the everyday needs of farmers—while advancing the broader goal of sustainable farming.