Everything We Know About John Deere’s New Autonomous Robot Lawn Mower

Referred to as the Autonomous Battery Electric Mower for Commercial Landscaping, this compact machine is powered by a 21.4 kWh battery — so not even the most powerful residential electric lawn mowers come close to matching its battery capacity.

John Deere’s autonomous robot lawn mower can be fully charged in about six hours using a 240-volt power outlet, or between 12 and 14 hours with a 120-volt power outlet. On a full charge, the mower can deliver up to 10 hours of operation in light conditions and up to four hours in heavier conditions. The batteries are integrated and cannot be swapped out.

“Our approach here is really to have the energy on board and get the job done and not worry about it,” John Deere engineer Tim Lewis explained to Green Industry Pros. “That’s kind of where we took the integrated approach, which gives us a higher energy density in terms of how much volume we need on the machine, and how we control how those are packaged, as well.”

John Deere’s autonomous mower utilizes the same camera technology as other products in the line, adjusted to its smaller size. It features four pairs of stereo cameras, providing 360-degree coverage.

The mower is equipped with two GPS antennas, and uses John Deere’s GPS technology to map and navigate terrain, define boundaries, detect obstacles, and operate autonomously. It can also work in areas without GPS coverage, using sensor-based navigation.

Just like tractors and other machines, the mower can be managed and controlled via the cloud-based John Deere Operations Center Mobile. The app also allows users access to live video, displays relevant data, and sends notifications. 

Brad Powers, the lead engineer for autonomy on the mower, told Green Industry Pros that safety is a top priority for John Deere. “It’s all about making sure we have a provably safe product. On top of that, we’ve spent a lot of time and a lot of effort developing repeatable and reliable hardware that we expect to operate for many, many years,” Powers said, noting that John Deere is still working on the mower’s ability to handle slopes.

In a press release accompanying the unveiling of its new line of autonomous vehicles, John Deere cited a lack of skilled labor as a major issue in the agriculture, construction, and commercial landscaping industries. Their products will help mitigate this shortage, the company said.

“Our agriculture, construction, and commercial landscaping customers all have work that must get done at certain times of the day and year, yet there is not enough available and skilled labor to do the work. Autonomy can help address this challenge,” stated Jahmy Hindman, Chief Technology Officer at John Deere.

“This will not only benefit our customers, but all of us who rely on them to provide the food, fuel, fiber, infrastructure, and landscaping care that we depend on every day,” he added.

John Deere has big plans for the future and will continue to build electric tractors, as well as mowers, Gator utility vehicles, and various types of construction equipment and machinery. It is not likely that the company will go fully electric anytime soon, but it does appear to be moving in that direction.