ROBOTIC LAWN CARE SYSTEMS (RLCS)

(San Jose, CA — August 28, 2020) by Audrey Wen

It takes seven days for a sitting mower to maintain 500 acres of lawn across 14 campuses of the Eastside Union School District. The department’s checkbook records a hefty investment of $100,000 for the large traditional gas mower, continuous maintenance fees, and the costs of 30-40 gallons of gasoline per day. This current system is nothing but an unfortunate concoction of time and cost inefficiency mixed with a large dosage of unsustainability.

Luckily, Robotic Lawn Care Systems (RLCS) presents the modern and viable alternative with its robotic fleet for lawn care services. AGZA introduced RLCS to Roger Silveira on its mission to make Evergreen Valley High School the second AGZA green zone high school in the nation. RLCS offers the Husqvarna Automowers with the Fleet Service App, giving the crew full control over their scheduled operation and location. Since the boundary wire was not set up yet and the robot hadn’t had time to analyze the area and it’s ideal mowing path through an adjustment period, the Husqvarna Automower was just set to a demo mode to exhibit its capabilities. It put on an impressive display run on the hilly mound with barely any audible operation noise. Everyone present was genuinely impressed by its outstanding performance. The automated system eliminates the two most pressing and evident concerns over gas lawn tools: Emissions and Noise. In addition to only using 2% of the energy of a ride-on option, the Husqvarna Automowers do not release any pollutants. They stay between 55-58 dB, practically heaven to the ears of the crew, and school students, who have been in the presence of the 95-100 dB riding mower. As the demo carried on, the Automower ran into the foot of a tree. Instead of trying to forge ahead, it smoothly spun to the left and continued on its way. The robots are as safe as traditional mowers. The robots can pivot from obstacles and stop immediately when lifted, presenting no harm to its surroundings.

A major benefit of the automated system is the resulting increased productivity of the crew. While the Automowers take care of the straightforward and repetitive job of mowing the fields, the crew gains the ability to focus on more detailed orientated tasks that need to be done neatly and with precision. Such duties are not as pressing as mowing so they may normally be put off and neglected due to the crew’s limited time. With the crew’s workload lightened by the weatherproof robots operable day and night, rain or shine, the workers can focus on enhancing the property on the next level.

Audrey Wen is a junior attending Dougherty Valley High School in California. She is passionate about bringing light to the harms of gas powered lawn equipment and is eager to bring about their phase-out. Audrey created Debunk2031.org to combat the predicted growth of smog-forming emissions due to small off-road engines, specifically lawn maintenance gear. During her free time, she enjoys crafting and playing the Chinese violin.