Robotic Lawn Mowers
- A View from the Ground Up (Part 2)
But Toro’s vision of the future wasn’t dimmed by this early effort. The company went on to work with Carnegie Mellon University’s National Robotics Engineering Center, sponsoring the Automated Turf Management project. Intended for commercial applications, the prototype mowers use GPS to align straight cutting paths and laser sensors to detect and respond to obstacles.
Another premier effort on the commercial front is the Belrobotics BigMow, intended mostly for sports fields and golf courses. The BigMow cuts up to about five acres with slopes to 15 degrees, uses sonar to avoid obstacles, and mows grass evenly on uneven ground with five floating heads across its 39-inch cutting width. But like its consumer counterparts, the BigMow requires perimeter wires.
It’s also slow, topping out at 2.2 MPH (average human walking speed without pushing a mower is around 3-4 MPH). But if conditions are right, contractors who maintain sports fields and golf courses may find that it’s worth considering, especially if it can enhance their ROI.
What may be the most comprehensive robotic mower for a wide range of professional applications hit the market in early-2007. Manufactured by Self-Guided Systems LLC, the 38-inch, three-blade commercial SGS Hybrid Z runs for up to 12 hours on a 12-horsepower Kohler engine, navigating via a rotating laser sensor and a few simple-to-install reflectors around a property.
It cuts in any pattern that could be made with a conventional riding mower to within one inch accuracy. Programming a site is simple with the bilingual interface (English or Spanish) – the operator follows the unit with a remote control the first time to set the mowing pattern into memory, which can store up to 2,000 sites.
Eleven safety sensors slow the unit down when a person or animal approaches within five feet, and shut it off if they come within about two feet. Security features include user access codes, a GPS chip to constantly identify the mower’s location, and a built-in cell phone – the mower will call the landscape foreman or the police if it’s stolen.
Future potential
Although improvements are underway, industry experts still want answers to some hard questions.“Who’s going to be certified to maintain them?” asks Chris Huppe, president of Huppe Landscape Co., Inc. in Roseville, CA. “Who comes out to fix them? Those would be my first concerns: troubleshooting and maintenance. The ‘gawking factor’ also makes me hesitate. I can see a lot of people walking up to the mower and it shutting down. There might also be liability insurance problems if carriers prohibit coverage because the mower operates unsupervised.
“Even so, I can also see some potentially great applications,” Huppe observes. “What an awesome idea for high-weed mowing or highway strips. It’s still in the very early stages with lots of unprovens and unknowns, and I think it’s a few years off at best before robotic mowers become mainstream in our industry. But we’re talking about the future, and with the labor force shrinking, it deserves a serious look.”
Like all emerging technologies, there will be some growing pains as manufacturers work to improve robotic mowers. And if they’re to be successful in commercial applications, input from landscape contractors will be key.
“Our industry should explore this and be involved in testing and development,” says Don DeFever. “We need to think outside the box and provide the right kind of feedback to improve efficiency and reduce labor costs.”
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© Copyright 2007 Michael Riley. All rights reserved.