Burro has begun commercial shipments of its Grande 44 autonomous outdoor work platform, moving beyond the preorders opened in June. The Philadelphia robotics manufacturer says production started in August and the first customers received vehicles during the third quarter of 2026. Machines are now being offered through direct sales and a network of 50 dealers across 17 countries, with towing, materials movement and outdoor maintenance among the intended applications.
Grande 44 uses electric drive with a rated 44 hp peak output and 18 hp continuous power. Burro quotes up to 6,000 lb towing capacity and a maximum 1,500 lb cargo tray payload, although those are different load cases and must be matched to terrain, gradient and machine configuration. Peak power is available only under particular operating conditions; the continuous rating better represents sustained demand. These published specifications are not a guarantee that every combination of trailer, surface and route can be handled at the stated maximum.
The vehicle has 10 kWh of battery storage as standard, with options extending capacity to 40 kWh. A larger battery can support longer operation or higher energy demand, but there is no single runtime figure valid for mowing, towing, carrying loads and travelling empty. Route length, traction, gradients, repeated stops and the power drawn by attachments change consumption. Charging arrangements also have to fit the operating pattern if a machine is expected to support consecutive shifts.
For navigation, the vehicle combines 360° three-dimensional LiDAR with stereo cameras. LiDAR measures the distance to surrounding objects, while cameras supply additional visual information useful for recognising and interpreting the route. Navigation software uses sensor data to determine the vehicle’s position and plan movement within an approved operating area. The sensors do not remove the need for route assessment, particularly at crossings, confined entrances and places where people or other machines move unpredictably.
A 48-inch Cortador brush cutter, the vision guided Sprayito system for targeted vegetation treatment and an autonomous charging dock are among the compatible accessories. Those functions extend the platform beyond transport, but each introduces its own work area controls. Moving a trailer through a yard requires different separation and supervision arrangements from operating a cutting attachment or applying chemicals. The available accessories should not be interpreted as equipment included in every Grande 44 delivery.
The company reports more than 800 Burro robots operating in 17 countries and more than one million autonomous operating hours across its full installed fleet. These figures cover earlier Burro models alongside the newly available platform, not 800 Grande 44 machines. Existing operations include nurseries, orchards, vineyards, depots and industrial sites. The wider fleet’s accumulated data have informed development of the newer vehicle, although the supplier has not given a standalone Grande 44 deployment total.
Development of the latest vehicle combined the fleet’s accumulated field data with simulation using NVIDIA Isaac Sim. A simulation environment can expose navigation software to repeatable variations in terrain, obstacles and vehicle behaviour before further field testing, while actual worksites provide data about conditions that models may not represent adequately. The company has not presented an independently audited safety or study of task completion rates for Grande 44, so its operational claims are appropriately linked to its disclosed specification and existing fleet experience.
The company’s operating instructions define an operational design domain centred on clearly navigable private worksites. They caution against public roads and environments with unpredictable crossing traffic, even though the vehicle is designed to manage transitions between outdoor and indoor areas. Local site design, traffic segregation and suitable routes determine whether an intended application fits those conditions. A claim that the system needs no fixed guidance infrastructure does not imply it is approved for unrestricted autonomous operation in any environment.
Burro’s instructions also distinguish autonomous and person-follow modes from manual operation. Obstacle detection is specified as active in the autonomous modes, whereas the operator guidance does not assign the same automatic protection to manual control. Work instructions and training therefore need to address how a machine changes mode, how people approach it and who is responsible for intervening. Attachments can create additional hazards that are not resolved by the vehicle’s navigation sensors alone.
Autonomous towing is most directly useful where materials repeatedly travel along predictable private routes, such as between a nursery’s potting lines and growing areas or across a managed industrial yard. People still prepare loads, handle exceptions and supervise activities around the moving machine. Burro cites results from established customer installations, including vehicle inventory scanning and nursery towing, but those outcomes belong to its broader deployed product range rather than to a disclosed Grande 44 customer trial.
Sales have begun, with the company confirming production and initial deliveries rather than forecasting them. It has not stated how many Grande 44 units have reached customers or how many are working in industrial rather than agricultural settings. Future operational reports can establish the machine’s performance on heavier loads and more demanding routes. For now, the material change from June is commercial availability of a Burro platform with greater capacity with defined technical and site operating requirements.
