Autonomous Mower for areas and rows - is this a good idea?

candersen10 · July 23, 2024, 3:59pm

Hello,

I have a robotics business, and a family farm.

On my family farm, we have 200 acres, and about $400K on mowers/mowing machines. Everything from a 1025R and several Kubota BXs and ZDs up to a Deere 6430 Premium with a 10 footer, Deere 3720, Deere 5325 with a 6 footer, Deere 333E with a 72 inch ambusher, Kubota 4 ton excavator with hydraulic mower, etc. In short, I’m SICK of sitting on a mower. Sure, fun for 500 hours maybe, or maybe 1000, but it’s endless and doesn’t get done.

In paralell, I spent about 4 years after business school working for Case New Holland (CNHi), then left in 2017 to start a robotics comapny (burro.ai). Today, we have over 400 of our Burro robots running in paid commerical use, often as harvest assist aids carrying berries and grapes alongside people, as towing vehicles replacing small tractors and operators towing trailers in nurseries, and as autonomous patrol vehicles, docking to charge, then driving around sending alerts when people/thieves are seen.

Customers of mine keep putting weird mowers behind our Burros to try to, then my team keeps thinking there is a use and [trying things out. I have a small Burro (about 4 Hp, 500 lbs, big enough to tow a 36 inch fixed mount mower) and a larger Burro Grande (about 12 hp, 1200 lbs, big enough to tow a 48 inch fixed mount mower or maybe larger).

Would anyone in their right mind want a mower that autonomously docked to charge, then repalced a BX or 1025R sized machine and mowed areas / rows autonomously on a continous cycle? To me, it sounds amazing - buys me about 50 hours a week of labor during the summer / or about $2k/week just in labor. What do people think?

candersen10 · July 23, 2024, 4:00pm

Here are some images of products also to give some context on the question:

candersen10 · July 23, 2024, 4:01pm

blueberrythrill · July 23, 2024, 4:22pm

A mower like that would save us a bunch of time keeping the PYO farm manicured for the public. I have also noticed that we knock a lot of Blueberries to the ground when we mow with the tractor and the 7 foot finish mower. Not as much problem with the other fruits since they don’t bend into the row middles when they are loaded with fruit.

You may be interested to know that a handful of folks from Honda came by the farm a few years ago to see how we mowed everything. The plant manager from the local Honda factory was part of the team that made the visit. Several of the well dressed folks did not speak english.

I never received a follow up or even a thank you card for the time I spent speaking with them.

Audi_o_phile · July 23, 2024, 4:28pm

Someone posted a similar question about a month ago in a different thread:

Autonomous 36 or 48 inch mower for rows and areas - would something like this be of interest for people?

On my family farm, we have 200 acres, and about $400K on mowers/mowing machines. In short, I’m SICK of sitting on a mower. In paralell, I spent about 4 years working for Case New Holland, then left in 2017 to start a robotics company (burro.ai).

Today, we have over 350 of our Burro robots running in paid commerical use, often as harvest assist aids carrying berries and grapes alongside people, as towing vehicles replacing small tractors and operators towing trailers in nurseries, and as autonomous patrol vehicles, docking to charge, then driving around sending alerts when people/thieves are seen.

Customers of mine keep putting weird mowers behind our Burros to try to autonomously mow, then my team keeps thinking there is a use and trying things out.

Would anyone in their right mind want a mower that autonomously docked to charge, then repalced a BX or 1025R sized machine and mowed areas / rows autonomously on a continous cycle?

dannytoro1 · July 23, 2024, 4:46pm

Maybe that larger remote mower would be ok. But for those smaller ones; I fear our dogs would break out and bring me the remains of the mower. Look Daddy! I killed a varmint!