4 minute read

Robotic mowers

Better for the planet and improves the turf

Sustainability: We don’t yet know the devastating long term effects of global climate change. However doing nothing is out of the question. Small engines are big polluters – a 4 stroke petrol mower puts out on average 88Kg CO2 emissions per year.

In easier to understand terms, this means petrol lawn mowers emit as much emissions as 11 cars while mowing, or the equivalent of one car driving a 93 mile journey. It is unfiltered pollution delivered straight into the air in those areas that sportspeople, the public and their families spend a lot of their free time.

Insight from research has shown that not many people even think about emissions that landscaping power tools and small engine machines produce or realise just how polluting they are. In the US, outdoor petrol power tools contribute 5% of the country’s emissions and the State of California has brought in legislation to ban them from 2024. With legislation on these issues lagging in the UK, it is up to us to encourage the change in consumers and professionals in the industry.

Robot mowers can help households and landscapers reduce their ecological footprint. Robotic lawnmowers are emission free, use very little electricity and are very quiet. In addition, for some brands like the Kress, up to 96% of the robotic mower can be recycled.

Switching to a robot mower can reduce a business or homeowner’s impact on the environment, not only in terms of the emissions but also a reduction in noise pollution, as well as saving energy due to how little electricity they need.

So important with the high costs of energy set to increase even further as we head towards winter. It also means working times in busy places like schools can be extended due to the low noise levels.

Robot mowers are better for lawns than just mowing once a week as they cut a tiny bit off every day which promotes healthier growth, feeding a lawn and reduce the need for chemicals. A robot mower saves time and improves the turf.

Now with artificial intelligence

New to the STIGA range for 2023 are three fully autonomous, WIRE FREE, robot mowers – the first to bring predictive AGS technology to a garden or landscaping environment.

Typically, RTK GPS robots use radio signals to transmit Course correctional data between the base station and robot. This course correction data is crucial in ensuring that the robot navigation is accurate. However, obstacles such as garden walls, houses and garden buildings can block radio signals – breaking the contact. The patented STIGA Active Guidance System enhances the GPS RTK signal reliability by using 4G to transmit the vital course correction data. This means the link between robot and base remains reliable no matter what obstacles or distance lies between the base and robot. The system learns satellite blind spots throughout the garden at various times of the day, ensuring that the robot has an unbroken link to the infrastructure that allows it to navigate with the high accuracy required.

With no need to lay wire or hammer plastic stakes in your lawn, you can simply use the App to drive the robot mower around the perimeter of your lawn and any obstacles within it. You do it once and it remembers every detail. And because it is virtual, it is hassle free to adjust if the layout of the garden should change should you add a pond, bush, or garden furniture.

By using accurate navigation, the robot can cover the lawn }

Now with artificial intelligence

significantly more efficiently. This means less cutting time when compared to a random navigation robot. Less cutting time means that the plant has time to heal between cutting schedules. This way the grass stays healthier – greener and softer under foot.

The carbon steel pivoting razor blades are strong and flexible, making them safer and more resistant to impact and results in them staying sharper, for longer. Spinning at 2850rpm they will perform a neat cut without tearing the grass. The height of cut can be adjusted between 20 and 65mm and can be controlled remotely via the smart phone app, STIGA.GO. This means you have complete control of your robot, even when away from home.

Plants, insects, and wildlife interact with all the physical nonliving things such as soil, water, air, and sunlight to create the small eco-systems that we find in every garden. By designing high efficiency robots that are able to manage cutting session during daylight hours, STIGA have ensured that nocturnal animals such as hedgehogs can safely occupy the garden overnight. And with noise levels of less from your garden by any loud noises.

At the heart of every STIGA robot mower is an ePower battery built on premium lithium-ion batteries, which contain chemistry optimised for reliability and durability. Even after 1500 charging cycles, the battery still operates at over 80% capacity

The new STIGA robots further optimise the battery usage as they work within organised cutting patterns ensuring that there is no chance of over mowing. There is also the option to programme the mower to create straight line patterns to produce that typical British stripe effect.

They cut in two mowing cycles - these are performed consequently. It will re-start any cutting cycle from where it stopped on the previous cycle and can be programmed to work in multiple mowing zones, always returning to the charging station by the fastest route.

The new STIGA robot range combines cutting edge technology with function-led design engineering to offer a robot mower that offers cutting perfection, with total flexibility and control like no other. n www.stiga.com/uk