TECHNOLOGY

The robotic and autonomous marketplace is growing fast . In April , Stihl showed its updated iMow line for U . S . sales , and it has “ limited regional availability .” Toro and Exmark have talked about autonomous products for some time but have not put anything in the sales channel yet ( we did see a Toro robot mowing the grass at the company ’ s Minnesota HQ ). And it seems like each week , a company with a name I don ’ t recognize drops a robot mower into an online marketplace . Here is a list of companies we know have robot mowers for sale . Bobcat Echo Greenworks Husqvarna Kress Mammotion Mean Green RC Mowers Scag Scythe Segway Sunseeker Wright Manufacturing

signals . “ Boundary wire still has some appeal ,” said Connor of Husqvarna .

For pro users of mowers like the Greenzie-equipped Wright mower , evolving tech is increasing productivity . “ In the beginning , the landscaper ’ s goal with the autonomous mower was just to get the job done ,” said CBQ . “ Now we ’ re getting requests like , ‘ OK I have my sites mapped and I want to be able to take the mower off the truck and have it travel to the first job site through a transport zone and then go to the next one and go to the next one .’”

Kubista from RC Mowers has found that robot technology continues to surprise users . “ They ’ re often surprised by how much control they have while the mower is running . They can change speed or overlap or other features . And one user can operate multiple autonomous robots simultaneously on the property .”

Safety is even more important than productivity for owners of robotic mowers . The robots have vision that lets them avoid humans , pets and any object that could get bumped or run over . Kress robots use ultrasonic technology to keep the mowers on the safe and intended mowing path . The ultrasonics can be turned on and off , depending on the area being maintained .

At the dealership

The process of buying autonomous power equipment is evolving too . “ Initially , it was difficult to show these in dealerships ,” said Vollbeer from Echo . “ They ’ re difficult to demonstrate , and they ’ re not real sexy .” The large Echo robotic mower – the company also has golf-ball picking robots for driving ranges – is covered in gray plastic with little visual interest on the top side .

“ And the sales process , like with any large piece of commercial equipment , is long . Especially with landscapers ,” said Vollbeer . “ This is a paradigm shift .”

Kubista agrees . He said , “ Price is not the barrier anymore to someone looking at an autonomous mower . The barrier is , ‘ Hey ,

The dealers that have adopted autonomous mowers and are going out and putting in the legwork , they ’ re becoming very successful .

I ’ m gonna let someone else experiment with that .” There are estimates of sales volume in the robotic mower space , and it ’ s a small number – maybe one-tenth of one percent of commercial mower sales ? Not sure , but sales and usage are growing . CBQ reported that the operating hours of Greenzie-equipped autonomous mowers is growing rapidly , and he made the universal symbol for the “ hockey stick ” growth chart .

“ The dealers that have adopted autonomous mowers and are going out and putting in the legwork , they ’ re becoming very successful ,” said Uljua from Kress . He teased a little talk of what might be coming from Kress , though the company has not yet decided how much new product it will show at Equip Expo .

Husqvarna now offers a leasing option . “ The buying cycle is shortening ,” said Jason Connor . “ And leasing will lessen the capital outlay .” Like all the manufacturers we spoke with – those making investments in and now delivering autonomous and semi-autonomous mowers – Husqvarna believes robotic mowers will take off in the U . S . like they have in Europe , for both homeowners and landscape pros .

“ Homeowners might be more of the early adopters ,” said Connor , ‘ but the landscape industry is fiercely competitive . They will embrace these products so they can provide a greater level of service and quality in spite of the labor challenges .”

24 OPE + September 2024 www . OPE-Plus . com