Hauling Industry News
Autonomous lawn mowers are popping up in the U.S. more so than ever before
Story by Lauren Rathmell / lawnandlandscape.com
They’re a hit in Europe, an eye-catching yard toy and maybe a remedy for the labor shortage this industry is facing. Robotic (or autonomous) mowers have been creeping to the American market for the last few years, but manufacturers say things are just getting started.
“The time is absolutely now,” says Charles Quinn, founder of robotic software company Greenzie. “The robotics and the software are here.”
Greenzie manufactures software that allows traditional gas-powered mowers to be transformed into autonomous machines. Quinn says the goal is to remove the monotonous tasks that landscapers perform each day so they can enjoy the other parts of the job. Those are the tasks that may have drawn them to this industry in the first place.
Isaac Roberts, owner of Scythe Robotics, says robotics entering the green industry will lend itself to a better equipment service model and even better landscapes in general.
The time is right for the adoption of this new technology, and Logan Fahey, owner of Robin Autopilot, a franchise focused on the deployment robotic mowers, says within the next two years, there’s going to be a flip, and it’s going to be quick. “(Robotic mowers) are no longer a gimmick,” he says. “The momentum is just picking up.”