Honda Unveils First-Ever Autonomous Electric Riding Lawn Mower

Honda HNDAF has rolled out its inaugural battery-powered electric autonomous zero-turn riding mower. This cutting-edge prototype, christened the “Honda Autonomous Work Mower” (AWM), is capable of self-operation.

According to a report by Electrek, the innovative lawn mower was successfully tested in a proof of concept trial with a U.S. commercial landscape firm earlier this year. Honda is set to launch a pilot program next year, inviting companies to field test the AWM.

The AWM allows for manual operation or can function in autonomous mode. The operator can set up autonomous operation using a “Teaching” mode, which involves driving the mower to map a mowing route using a global navigation satellite system (GNSS). The AWM can learn and save multiple mowing routes and patterns to a cloud server.

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Once a route is saved, the operator can launch the AWM’s autonomous operation in “Playback” mode. The operator downloads the specified mowing route map using a tablet or smartphone, and the AWM starts autonomous operation, mowing according to the map route.

Honda’s AWM boasts straight tracking capabilities on uneven terrain and hills, thanks to two-motor traction control that prevents tire slippage. The mower is also equipped with four radar and four LiDAR sensors for obstacle detection.

The AWM automatically reduces blade rotation at low speeds and low loads to cut power consumption. Conversely, at high loads, the mower automatically slows its speed to prevent grass clogging and uncut grass.

Despite its groundbreaking features, Honda has not disclosed any information about power specs and charging time for its new prototype. However, this is not the first autonomous electric mower on the market; Bobcat launched a similar model last year.

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