Autonomous Mower Saves Energy and Improves Quality of Tall Fescue Lawn

Abstract

<jats:p>Battery-powered autonomous mowers are designed to reduce the need of labor for lawn mowing compared with traditional endothermic engine mowers and at the same time to abate local emissions and noise. The aim of this research was to compare autonomous mower with traditional rotary mower on a tall fescue (<jats:italic>Festuca arundinacea</jats:italic>) lawn under different nitrogen (N) rates. A two-way factor experimental design with three replications was adopted. In the study, four N rates (0, 50, 100, and 150 kg·ha<jats:sup>−1</jats:sup>) and two mowing systems (autonomous mower vs. gasoline-powered walk-behind rotary mower equipped for mulching) were used. As expected, N fertilization increased turf quality. At the end of the trial, the autonomous mower increased turf density (3.2 shoots/cm<jats:sup>2</jats:sup>) compared with the rotary mower (2.1 shoots/cm<jats:sup>2</jats:sup>) and decreased average leaf width (2.1 mm) compared with the rotary mower (2.7 mm). Increased density and decreased leaf width with autonomous mowing yielded higher quality turf (7.3) compared with the rotary mower (6.4) and a lower weed incidence (6% and 9% cover for autonomous mower and rotary mower, respectively). Disease incidence and mowing quality were unaffected by the mowing system. The autonomous mower working time was set to 10 hours per day (≈7.8 hours for mowing and 2.2 hours for recharging) for a surface of 1296 m<jats:sup>2</jats:sup>. The traditional rotary mower working time for the same surface was 1.02 hours per week. The estimated primary energy consumption for autonomous mower was about 4.80 kWh/week compared with 12.60 kWh/week for gasoline-powered rotary mowing. Based on turf quality aspects and energy consumption, the use of autonomous mowers could be a promising alternative to traditional mowers.</jats:p>

Autonomous Mower vs. Rotary Mower: Effects on Turf Quality and Weed Control in Tall Fescue Lawn

“…A small ordinary gasoline engine has an efficiency ranging from 20% to 25%, although it uses primary energy, while the efficiency of the Italian National Electric System is 46%. However, the primary energy consumption measured in this trial differs from that measured by Grossi et al [12], who compared an Automower 330X and a John Deere walk-behind mulching rotary mower. The Automower required 4.80 kWh/week of primary energy to cover 1296 m 2 , while the John Deere required 12.60 kWh/week.…”

“…The height and frequency of mowing were performed in order to respect the "1/3 rule", which means that mowing does not involve more than one third of the total height of the grass, in order to prevent scalping and physiological stress [11]. The most widespread lawnmowers in Italy are electric rotary mowers for small gardens and gasoline-powered rotary mowers for larger gardens [12]. However, autonomous mowers are becoming more common.…”

Energetic Aspects of Turfgrass Mowing: Comparison of Different Rotary Mowing Systems

“…Some authors [1] claim that flail mowers cannot equal the mowing quality of reel mowers nor rotary mowers, while Parish and Fry [11] have observed that, if a flail mower is properly sharpened, it may produce the same turf quality and mowing quality of a rotary 2 of 6 mower. In Italy, the maintenance of home lawns is usually carried out with rotary mowers [12]. Rotary mowers can be powered by gasoline engines or by electric engines.…”

“…Rotary mowers can be powered by gasoline engines or by electric engines. Electric rotary mowers are usually supplied using an electric cord or a battery [12]. Until a few years ago, the only electric rotary mowers used for private lawns in Italy were supplied with a cord.…”

Conceptual design of modular multi functional agricultural mobile robot

“…Mobile robot solutions are not widely available on the market today. The most popular and most affordable ones are feeding robots in barns (Lely Juno 100), lawn mowers (Husqvarna Automower) (Grossi et al, 2016) and drones for field imaging in precision agriculture. Scientific articles discuss numerous mobile robot designs.…”