robot mowers

[odin]

IF these things ever catch on you think we might have to start selling the idea of bagging ?These only mulch ive been told and they cant pickup leaves .just would like to get everyones thoughts
Freinds of mine say they will never catch on big but the same thing was said in the early 1900 about the auto would never replace the horse .after all technolgy only gets better

[walker-talker]

I am not worried.

[bubble boy]

imagine you went to a prop and took out your mower. you cut a boundary, then make your lines at one constant speed, running over any debris and no slowing for growth, etc. then stop. do that for a month. how would the prop look?

we have other things that will put us out before that.

[groundsguy1970]

I want one! You could set up a web cam and "supervise" the mowing from the office. Maybe it could get email and you could email commands and monitor it's settings and such?:cool:

[odin]

Only thing worries me is that techlogy is in the works that is a lot better than whats out there now.WHATS out there now doent worry me in the least its this artifical inteligence that worries me .
I saw it in the auto industry .When i went to work for gm in 1966 our plant had 7000 people when i went out there was only 2400.
Isaw the first robotics in the late 60ies they were not that good in the short term ,but when i got out of gm these things were absolutely incrediable ,they could even stacks the parts from behind the line.Ive been out since 1996 the the newer ones are even better .Like i said people said the auto would never replace the horse.

[bubble boy]

yah, but how many years before its implementable? and at what cost? will i be dead?

[odin]

Originally posted by bubble boy
yah, but how many years before its implementable? and at what cost? will i be dead?

PARTNER it may not be as long as you think.BUT anyway i hope i am wrong .When youre young 30 years seems like a long time but it catchs up before you know .I hope you are right on this one
Its the guys in their 20 and 30ies who would be more effected than me ,im a old dude so if it came down it i have a gm pension.
take care bubble boy it nice to exchange ideas with you.

[mowerman90]

I saw one of these things at the GIE show in Tampa at the Husqvarna booth doing it's thing. I'm not worried, but if I ever do see one of these on someones lawn, I'm gonna jump out'a the truck, run over and flip it on its back like a turtle, and let it die in the sun, LOL.

[odin]

Originally posted by mowerman90
I saw one of these things at the GIE show in Tampa at the Husqvarna booth doing it's thing. I'm not worried, but if I ever do see one of these on someones lawn, I'm gonna jump out'a the truck, run over and flip it on its back like a turtle, and let it die in the sun, LOL.

Mowerman amen on that!!!! In the whole southeast suburbs of chicago i have not seen one yet and i hope i dont
take care partner

[casey]

Robot mowers are the future. These are prototypes that will improve with each passing year, just as all technology does. We will be forced to adjust our services & adapt to a new reality as these machines make there way across the lawns of North America.

[odin]

Casey i agree with you but i hope it is later than sooner.
like i said nobody in 1900 would have believed the horse would be replaced by the auto or the wagon by the truck.
IVE seen robotics from the very early ones, that all the auto workers laughed at until they started lossing their jobs 10 years later.

[MuskTurfKing]

LOL, like flipping over a beetle, but I seriously doubt they'll catch on, for commercial props? Give me a break.

Hank

[odin]

Originally posted by MuskTurfKing
LOL, like flipping over a beetle, but I seriously doubt they'll catch on, for commercial props?

Hank

Some govermental agencys already have purchased and use robot mowers.but like i have said in every post on this subject i hope i am wrong .the same arguement went on 100 years ago on the automobile would never catch on .I guess in 5 or 10 years we'll know for sure . ONE thing i do know computers and robots are only gonna get better

anyway its nice we live in a country where we can exchange ideas like this

take care partner

[bubble boy]

its really amazing how technology advances. i guess anything is possible and we could be replaced. i doubt it, but only a fool would not admit the possibility.

[odin]

Bubble boy i sure hope we dont get replaced as i enjoy doing this kind of work .It has so many benefits like keeping yourself in shape, meeting all kinds of people ,the rich the poor and all in between
and most of all the satifaction of a job well done when a cilent tells you how good his lawn looks .These are things i would hate to see just disapear because of some robot .And i hate to sound like a pestimist but ive seen to many good hard working men put out of work by these things ,i guess thats why im so sensative to this issiue .Maybe im to sensetive and it clouds my judgement on the issue.
partner i have enjoyed the discussion

[Guido]

When the idea does catch on (if it does), it won't be over night, so there will still be plenty of work out there. It can't landscape or pick up leaves, or plow snow, or build sidewalks and patio's or wall's, etc. I don't think it has an applicator's license either.

Oh, and By the way........

SOMEONE needs to install the underground fencing for these things and service them regularly right?? It may be one of us doing just that 10 years down the road!;)

[odin]

guido

I wouldnt say what they will come up with next
In 1966 i would have called someone insane if they told me these robots would be able to stack parts just like a human even on the lead off line and do it better than a human.Anyway its the rich and prime commercial who will get these things first . Like i said its not me who will have to live with these things .Its the young guys

[MuskTurfKing]

Hey, I'm not worried. Take a commerical property. It usually has an island or two that are pretty small, and these robot things have to go back to their base to recharge. They'd need to have about 10 of the things. And what about the huge 10 acre props? If it does catch on, I'll just do fert, or landscaping, or tree work...you can always think of something to do.

Hank

[casey]

When robot mowers take over there will still be a market for trim & blow operations as these mowers cannot edge beds, walks, trees, etc. . A trim & blow co. will be forced line up multiple contracts in a concentrated area as pricing for this service will be significantly less than a mowing contract.

[Kent Lawns]

Robotic vacuums, robotic kitchen cleaners, robotic clothes washers. etc. etc.

~We've heard and seen them all.

In its CURRENT state, robotic lawn mowers are a fad.

They're too slow and too limited in what they can do.

[casey]

You need look no further than the computer to see how quickly technology can change the world. This "fad" will be improved upon yearly until most general mowing is eliminated. I predict current LCO's adapting as trim & blows, & general maint. within 20 yrs..

[Kent Lawns]

Being that they've been developed for the LAST 20 years, I don't think 20 years is enough time.

By the time we mow lawns without labor, grass biology will improve to where it doesn't need to be cut.



Techology advancements are the exchange of information.

Grass cutting doesn't require a lot of exchange of information.

[odin]

The kind in the auto plants were under develoment for twenty years what got them better was the microproseser .It took about twenty years to get at about half what the autos makers wanted
But thats yesterday technolgy THE PROTOTYPES are in place that will put aother fourth to half of workers on the streets .UNION contracts are preventing now among the big three but its just a matter of time .THE artificial intelligence is a awsome thing .THESE little dummies you seeing demoed now are not what you will have to fight.Its whats on the drawing boards .
And has anyone seen what the lawn care is at mr bill gates estate is like ,if you ever get a peep it will scare the living hell out of you

[casey]

Odin00,
I agree with you. Since I am realatively young & will likely be in this business for many years I have begun to make contingency plans for such an eventuality.

[odin]

Originally posted by casey
Odin00,
I agree with you. Since I am realatively young & will likely be in this business for many years I have begun to make contingency plans for such an eventuality.


CASEY lets hope partner it takes a long time before you have to worry about that