Experiencing bad lawn care? There may be more to blame than lazy landscapers in the coming years, as Honda is the latest company to introduce a lawnmower that can be programmed to drive itself. The Autonomous Work Mower, as Honda’s version is appropriately called, is a battery-powered electric zero-turn riding (ZTR) mower from the automaker that features a “Teaching” mode for manual operation and a “Playback” mode for autonomous operation, as well as smartphone support for displaying mowing paths and more. Honda’s new lawnmower is even able to stop in front of obstacles automatically, so nobody is accidentally run over.
“Our development of the prototype zero-turn Honda Autonomous Work Mower comes at a time when technology is shaping the future of the landscaping industry,” said Hirokazu Hara, vice president of New Business Development, American Honda Motor Co., Inc. “To address labor shortages and help support companies’ sustainability goals, the Honda AWM aims to provide zero-emission alternatives to gasoline-powered mowers that can reduce operating costs and help accelerate the electrification of landscape maintenance equipment.”
The prototype Honda AWM combines industry leading cutting performance and operator comfort with high location accuracy and obstacle detection. It is designed to help improve the efficiency of lawn care and landscape maintenance companies while offering an eco-conscious solution with zero-emissions. Capable of operating in manual or autonomous mode, when manually operated, the Honda AWM learns the mowing routes and patterns set by the operator. In autonomous operation, the AWM reproduces these routes and patterns, which can free up workers’ time to focus on more high-value tasks. The all-electric AWM supports Honda’s global goal of achieving carbon neutrality – net zero emissions – for all products and corporate activities by 2050.
Discussion (18 replies)
Join Discussion →As with cars, I enjoy using gas-powered appliances like lawn mowers. I don't like the electric kinds. I also like cutting my own grass. Don't need a robot to do that for me. Still, this is kinda neat, I guess.
There have been Roomba-style lawnmowers for quite a while now.
They suck, so I guess they haven't gotten too far from their vacuum cleaner roots.
I guess it is great if you have a giant empty and level field, and not a garden with all kinds of obstacles and uneven terrain. Call me when the autonomous mower can tackle that.
I don't like gas powered garden appliances. They never start when you need them, they are loud, dirty and smelly. I got a battery powered mower a few years ago, best decision ever.
Admittedly I don't use gas-powered leaf blowers, I'm fine using the electric ones. Those are just as loud as the gas-powered ones though. Electric lawn mowers get just as dirty as the gas-powered ones. Luckily I haven't had to deal with many gas-powered mowers in my life that were troublesome to start.
I'm not talking about getting dirty from usage, but the inevitable spilling of fuel and engine oil. Even the exhaust fumes contain some fuel due to running rich. Plus having to keep jugs of fuel around, getting 2-stroke oil to mix in, it is so much hassle.
Probably fine if you don't have acres to mow, weed eat, edge and blow. I'd be out there all day on an electric zero turn if I had to use one. No thanks.
And who spills gas or oil? I have hanging fuel storage with nozzles. Not a drop hits the ground.
If you have acres you need a tractor, not a lawnmower. I only have a garden, as most people who need a lawnmower.
Well, sorry, I'm not so perfect as to be able to eliminate even the last droplet from the nozzle when lifting it. A can of gas smells up the entire garage even when it just sits closed.
I moved to an electric mower this spring, and it was a fantastic decision. Not only does it just get charged with my solar panels, eliminating the need to pay for gas, it also is quiet enough I can take a conference call while I mow and actually hear what's being discussed. This means I can turn a 90 minute status call into a 90 minute status call + getting the lawn mowed.
Some things electric works just fine for. If you have a small enough yard, an electric mower is a great idea, and as batteries get better, the area an electric mower can reasonably and efficiently cover will get better. Same with many other tools. It's all about picking the right tool for the job.
You must have awful gas mowers and/or fuel quality in Europe MadMummy - I won't say gas motors are perfect, but on my yard equipment it's usually everything else breaks down before the engine goes - last mower I had the deck just rusted through but ran great. I did have a push mower finally give up and die - it finally lost compression, but it was also 10 years old and I ran a lot of hours through it so I don't feel like it died out early -- and even that I could have rebuilt, but the rest of the mower was showing a lot worse age.
I do love my electric weed eater, it's great around the house and I love that I don't have to wear earmuffs while running it. But if I try to take it back on the mountainside I don't have enough batteries to go all day - I can get a good hour out of it before I'm just waiting on batteries to recharge. Yeah, you can buy more batteries, but those big ones are $$$$$ - I don't think you save money over gas on that, particularly since the batteries are "consumable" and will only last a handful of years, but I do like the convenience - MadMummy and Endgame are not wrong there. Similarly with my leaf blower - the electric one is great for just touching up after mowing, but once fall hits, we gotta get out the big gas one to make a dent in the big piles of leaves and pine needles.
My folks got us an electric one shortly after we got our house and I've mostly enjoyed it. It's one of the early plug-in models which is my only complaint. Our backyard is walled in and isn't huge but it has its own complications that end up with me taking about an hour or so to mow and navigating the cord is always annoying. On the plus side, it's a high-amp model with tons of torque and a standard-type blade so there's no problem with it taking things on.
I've thought about getting a battery-based one but it's not a priority as I normally only need to do this 2-4 times a year. Like a lot of us, I used to mow lawns back in the day, either as a chore or for extra cash and I don't miss the fumes or mess either.
MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE!!!!!!
Sorry that's all I can think about with self driving semi's, cars, and now lawnmowers. Just waiting on autonomous soda machines.
I'm still using a gas powered lawn mower, was planning on purchasing a greenworks battery mower last spring, but kinda forgot about it until reading this thread.
I don't have a huge issue with gas powered mowers, and they're easy enough to maintain. However, replacing my 2-stage gas snowblower for a 2-stage electric snowblower was a great (albeit pricey) decision. Used to hate trying to get the gas snowblower to start in winter, always a struggle made worse with how cold it usually is. However, the battery powered blower is so easy to start and run.
Folks got us one of those as well. So much fun to use and makes clearing the driveway a breeze.
I think the problem people have with gas powered small engine yard equipment is buying the consumer grade garbage they sell at Lowes Depot. Like weed eaters and blowers. Get commercial grade. Stihl, Echo, Kubota, Husqvarna. I lasts forever with minimal issues. I'll still be using my backpack blower and weed easter long after yall can't get replacement batteries for your electric ones. It's why I have dewalt drills sitting in a bin that dewalt no longer makes batteries for. And the aftermarket third party batteries are trash.