The invasion has started.
Hundreds of thousands of robotic lawn mowers have been sold across Europe and USA but they encountered a big challenge here in Australia: the Buffalo and the Kikuyu grass.
It is fair and spontaneous to ask the question: Can they mow these types of grass? The answer is YES, they do it but just a few models and brands can.
Not all robots can.
Everywhere around the world, Robotic Lawn Mowers face cool season grasses like the Rye and the Fescue managing to do autonomously 100% of the lawn mowing maintenance. In Australia, the couches grow faster than anywhere else and that requires a more powerful effort for a robot.
That is the reason why Ambrogio automatic lawn mowers are tailored to the Australian environment and they are more powerful here than in other countries.
The Australian Ambrogio robots are equipped with bigger batteries, tougher and bigger blades: the optimum result is guaranteed.
New 2018 models like the Ambrogio L250 Elite are equipped with GPS navigation with the “Smart Partition” cutting system that allows it to divide the whole area to be mowed into many smaller areas. The robot recognises the areas that has already been mowed and moves to the next one. This enables the Ambrogio robots to concentrate the effort in an always fresh area which is indeed a big saving in time, batteries, blades and motor consumption. As a consequence, the robot will finish the work in less than half of the time than other robot while improving its efficiency and its durability.
New era. New opportunities.
Robotic Automation Technology is the next leap in the process automation evolution. It mimics human behaviour and executes rule-based tasks that to a certain extent are standardized. The build-up of capabilities in these areas supports the shift towards digitalization and its impact on life quality.
It will indeed take several years for the robotic mowers to become a real threat for the lawn mowing contractors. Probably not more than 5 years before they will have a real negative impact on the mowing run. The point is that they are here now and they are becoming more popular each day. This would be a good opportunity for smart contractors to build a really good business using this new cutting-edge technology.
New jobs for contractors will be to maintain and service the robots while focusing on high specialised tasks.
People mowing their lawn themselves are seeing the opportunity to free themselves from this chore and hand it over to a robot.
The change is started not just at a home level but also in Councils, Schools, Sporting fields, Golf Courses and for every company with a lawn to maintain.
Robots Available in Australia.
Many brands have tried to approach the Australian market however with bad results.
Nowadays you can find two major brands: Ambrogio Lawn Mower and Husqvarna. The prices are almost equal but Husqvarna Automowers can mow up to 5,000 sqm whereas Ambrogios can handle areas up to 30,000 sqm with the Ambrogio L400 Elite.
Newer and smaller Chinese brands can be found but they are disappearing quickly. Their price is appealing indeed but unfortunately, they are unable to cope with the Australian types of grass.
Ambrogio Robotic Lawn Mower
In several instances, we had to replace Husqwarna Automowers with Ambrogio robots as they could not cope to maintain the lawn.
This is due to the fact that Husqvarna Automowers are equipped with 4 small razor blades.
Ambrogio instead can be equipped with the same kind of blades but with a total of 12 razor blades rather than 4. It is important to note although that as a general rule, the Ambrogio robots are equipped with a big stainless steel four pointed blade which is able to mow easily and safely (thanks to the protective cone) every type of lawn, not to mention their durability over many many years.