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Artificial intelligence in lawn mowers can mow your lawn
FOX 26's Heather Sullivan has some smart sense about mowers that can do all the work for you!
HOUSTON - Do you hate to mow the lawn? You don’t have to thanks to artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence is being used in robotic lawnmowers.
The Atascocita Fire Department hasn’t had to mow the lawn in three months after getting a Husqvarna robotic lawnmower.
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"We can tell it what type of pattern we want it to do, and tell it to go to one section to another, and change the mowing height," said Michael Wassell, Director of Operations Support for the Atascocita Fire Department.
Robotic lawnmowers use GPS, Real-Time Kinematic Positioning, and Artificial Intelligence to mow on their own, taking in information about the lawn, the hills and valleys, and obstacles to cut around.
"We always advise people to let the mowers run for as much as possible at least the first few months, so it can learn its environment," said Joe Trevino with Clean Air Lawn Care Houston.
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Wireless models let you establish the perimeter through an app without having to bury a wire. They can also respond to data from linked weather apps.
"If it’s going to rain so many hours, it will stop mowing and go dock. Or if it’s rained recently, it will wait until the grass is a little dryer," said Wassell.
Robotic mowers are environmentally friendly, dropping the grass cuttings to fertilize the lawn.
"They’re quiet, they’re clean, and there are no emissions while they're working," said Trevino.
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If someone tries to steal a mower, alarms sound, and it can be tracked through GPS.
And the mower docks itself to recharge its battery.
"It will charge until it's full, and it returns to working again," said Wassell.
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The price for a robotic lawnmower starts at about $700 for a home version, up to $5,000 for a commercial mower.
Wassell says it has saved the fired department money by freeing up maintenance workers to work on other projects on the property.