Robotic Applications In Commercial Mowing

The application of technology including robotics and automation for commercial mowing contractors has started to peak interest in recent years.  The current reality today is that most mowing contractors know something about some of the newest technology that is out there for mowing.  The reality is also that most of them have never seen or used it first hand, don’t really know much more about it other than it is out there and different from the status quo, and thinking about it or evaluating it is intimidating.  Taking the time to learn and understand what products are out there, what their capabilities are, and what the cost of these products are makes sense to any contractor currently mowing commercial or residential properties as part of their operation.  The reality of today is that most facility managers of larger areas of turf for places like schools or golf courses are more aware and up to date in terms of what the newest technology can do on large areas compared to contractors themselves.

Part of this is the recency at which products have come to market that are truly capable of assisting commercial contractors in making their operations more efficient and more profitable.  In October of 2025 we saw the announcement of the Kress Voyager, this unit was the first wide scale marketing of an autonomous robotic product designed to work with a traditional landscaping/mowing crew and make their operation more efficient and require less man power.  There are other models from a variety of manufacturers that also offer larger units capable of much larger acreage than the more widely utilized residential models being marketed extensively to home owners.  Most of the other larger mowers are not really designed to travel with a crew like the Kress model, they are designed to be dedicated units to the same property.  

The Kress Voyager is designed to be a route based model.  There are far more robotic mower options for what can be considered continuous maintenance on a dedicated site.  When evaluating the route based model there are several considerations.  One of the most significant is timing and coordination.  This route based model is a big robotic mower and can cut around 7 acres in a charge, but it is no where near as fast as a human operating a larger stand on or zero turn when talking strictly about acres per hour of mowing.  So despite the route based mower being able to travel and remember routing based on one manned cut it is not going to perform as fast as as a human operated mower and crews will need a very high level of coordination so you don’t end up with the robot waiting on the crew or the crew waiting on the robot.  This presents a new challenge that remains to be seen how it plays out practically as most deliveries on these are just starting. 

This route based model can work, but it is going to struggle the larger the property is.  On properties in the 1-3 acre range it should be the strongest it will perform, as acreage gets up closer to 5-10 acres it will be tougher for the crew to not outpace the robot with a route based model.  Once things get over 10 acres it almost certainly makes sense to have a dedicated type autonomous mower for more of a continuous type operation.

We do not carry any mowers designed for route based mowing and I’m not sure we ever will.  We do have a variety of mowers that can handle between 1 acre and 30 acres in a relatively short time frame and provide a high quality uniform cut while maintaining cost effectiveness.   Mowing is often the least skilled aspect of a commercial property maintenance operation.  If part of it can be replaced with autonomous mowing, whether route based or dedicated, it is likely going to make sense.  The route based robotic mowers out there seem to be significantly more expensive than a mower dedicated to a property, to the tune of 5-10 times higher cost.  

By using robotic mowing on one or more properties contractors can save their man power for use on more technical aspects of property care and increase the value their team provides while reducing labor costs, fuel consumption, and equipment needs over time that historically was directed towards the mowing component.  With dedicated units there is the option to have the customer purchase the mower or have the contractor purchase the mower.  The contractor can then choose to sell their service for a monthly amount that includes robotic mowing or lease the mower to the contractor separately from their other services.

We strongly encourage an in person demonstration of either type of robotic mower so you can evaluate the effectiveness and potential impact on your operations.  We are at a point with much of this technology that it is getting so good you can’t afford to ignore it, or your competitors or customers will figure it out and put it to use in your place.