Development of a Small Mowing Robot for Steep Slopes

Abstract

There is an urgent need in Japan for a small mowing robot for the task of mowing steep slopes, which is hard work and unsafe. The objectives of this study were to develop such a mower and to verify its working characteristics through motion analysis. Two types of wire-towed mowers were developed: one towed by hand and one towed by electric motor. The ability of each mower to mow on steep slopes was compared with that of a commercial slope mower. Working capacity was obtained from working area could be mowed divided by working time determined through motion analysis. The working capacities were calculated from motion analysis during mowing to be 2.4 m²/min for the wire-towed mower, 1.3 m²/min for the motor-towed mower, and 5.6 m²/min for the slope mower; and the analyzed working area were 22 m², 16 m², 11 m², respectively. It was quicker to load and unload both towing mowers on the bed of a pickup truck than to load and unload the slope mower. This result shows that the two towing mowers are suited to small-scale use on steep slopes, since they can be transported easily. The wire-towed mower could be useful on long slopes with a range of length of at least 5 m on account of its 8-m-long tow wires, which would confer a high total working capacity.