Meet your new Robot!
Every day I think about grass (the stuff in your front yard…not the other kind). When I am not dealing with the “chaos of the day”, I try to plan for years down the road. Sometimes the future is tomorrow or next week, but sometimes I start to think longer term. How will the industry look in 3, 5 and 10 years?
Electric Equipment:
As we all know, batteries are improving. They are increasing in longevity and power and decreasing in size and cost. Why is electric the way of the future? Some benefits are: less maintenance, lower energy costs, environmental stewardship and …it’s cool. My prediction: in the next few years we will start to see more and more of the hand tools (trimmers, weed eaters, chain saws) going electric. These are already approaching comparability with the gas equipment. I am predicting that in the next 10 years we will start to see electric mowers that can stand commercial use. People want electric, but they don’t want to pay 30% – 50% more for it. As the economics improve, it will gain traction in the industry.
Robots:
We have an electric robot named Willie that “rolls in a lot of grass”. (It is basically a lawn Roomba). Willie has been mowing the lawn at our office for several weeks and does an impressive job. We got Willie so that we could start to understand the robot market and capabilities. Robot lawn care is already very popular and wide spread in Europe. Robots are quiet and they can mow any time of the day (or night), but they have some limitations— the yard must be simple, fences are difficult. Robots can’t edge, so they still need consistent upkeep. I think Robots will start to be a significant player in the industry in the next 10 years, but it will be very difficult for them to completely replace good old fashion man power because many lawns are complicated and need attention. Some people like the idea of robots, but a sexy robot isn’t too sexy if it doesn’t do a good job.
The temperature is rising— while you wait for your own lawn bot, consider calling Top Choice Lawn Care. We will happily brave the heat for you!