A new research project at the West Florida Research and Education Center in Jay, FL is looking into the quality of turfgrass cut with a robotic mower. The study is to determine whether the quality of St. Augustinegrass can be improved by continuous mowing with a robotic mower at 2.4″ height instead of the traditional mowing height of 3.5″, removing only a third of leaf blade material per mowing.
Dr. Shaddox talking to participants at the 2018 Gulfcoast Expo & Turfgrass Field Day. Photo Credit: Matt Lollar, University of Florida/IFAS Extension.
The mower being tested is the Miimo manufactured by Honda. This particular model mows and charges on its own and can mow up to 0.37 acres on one charge. It can mow in three programmable cutting patterns: directional; random; or mixed. The study is utilizing the random cutting pattern.
A Miimo Mower pulling into its docking station. Photo Credit: American Honda Motor Company, Inc.
The mower’s three, two-sided blades are mounted on a circular head that can rotate both clockwise and counter-clockwise. The head automatically switches between clockwise and counter-clockwise rotation to reduce wear on the blades. The blades are basically just two-sided razor blades. A buried guide wire is installed on the perimeter of the lawn to serve as a boundary.
A close-up shot of the Miimo mower blades. Photo Credit: Matt Lollar, University of Florida/IFAS Extension.
So far, the plots cared for by the robotic mower look promising! The blades on the robot are much finer than those found on a common rotary mower. Because of this, they cut more cleanly and tend to tear the grass blades less often than the rotary mower. Other robotic mowers on the market include the Worx Landroid, Husqvarna Automower, and Bosch Indego. Please stay tuned for future robotic mower evaluations on other products, energy consumption, and nutrient evaluation.
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