DIY robot lawn mower

[Tommy]

did you consider a rotary mower with a couple of caster wheels?

Last fall I tested that approach with a single 20" rotary mower(Earthwise 24Vdc), But I
got to thinking about the power requirements and footprint of a +40" cut path in that style
and I lost interest(I also didn't like the noise of even a 20" mowing deck).

I gave George the power to push a 50" plow through 10" of snow, it should have the
power needed to push 3 20" reel mowers with friction drive. with this approach no
extra energy would be needed to power the mowing deck(it would also be very quite),
energy would be needed for lifting and lowering the mower(needed for turns) but the
amount needed would be much less then powering the mower deck.

with that said, plan B is adding two more batteries to power the reel mowers(I already have
the motors) and adding casters.

I'm very skeptical that a friction drive approach is going to give me satisfactory resolutes
but I gotta give it a chance(four weeks at most) due to the energy savings.

While I do force myself to stay on task and not think about the next phase, it does play
a part in the options I test(next phase is using solar cells to charge George's batteries) .

Tommy

 

[Two-Stroke]

Last fall I tested that approach with a single 20" rotary mower(Earthwise 24Vdc), But I
got to thinking about the power requirements and footprint of a +40" cut path in that style
and I lost interest(I also didn't like the noise of even a 20" mowing deck).

I gave George the power to push a 50" plow through 10" of snow, it should have the
power needed to push 3 20" reel mowers with friction drive. with this approach no
extra energy would be needed to power the mowing deck(it would also be very quite),
energy would be needed for lifting and lowering the mower(needed for turns) but the
amount needed would be much less then powering the mower deck.

with that said, plan B is adding two more batteries to power the reel mowers(I already have
the motors) and adding casters.

I'm very skeptical that a friction drive approach is going to give me satisfactory resolutes
but I gotta give it a chance(four weeks at most) due to the energy savings.

While I do force myself to stay on task and not think about the next phase, it does play
a part in the options I test(next phase is using solar cells to charge George's batteries) .

Tommy

Even with fluffy, dry snow that's a lot of power. I'm sure that George has enough power for the friction-driven reel mowers -- the issue is what to do on turns.

After not hearing from you for months, I am glad that you're back posting here.

 

[Tommy]

Got a chance to test the Reel Mowers on the Mule this weekend(mowed my and my mom's lawn).

The friction drive system worked better then I expected(given the hacked together setup).

Tommy

 

[mystreba]

Got a chance to test the Reel Mowers on the Mule this weekend(mowed my and my mom's lawn).

The friction drive system worked better then I expected(given the hacked together setup).

Tommy

Cool - what's the acreage and how long did it take? What's the next step?

 

[Two-Stroke]

Got a chance to test the Reel Mowers on the Mule this weekend(mowed my and my mom's lawn).

The friction drive system worked better then I expected(given the hacked together setup).

Tommy

It's good to hear from you, Tommy.

Does it work in robotic mode at all or is it pretty much remote-controlled?

 

[Tommy]

Does it work in robotic mode at all or is it pretty much remote-controlled?

Two-Stroke, all tests so far have been performed with a wired joystick and me walking along
side inspecting results. with that said, I'v come to believe that putting the cameras on George
last fall for ROV operations(snow removal) was a crackhead thing to do, last fall I was writing
software ,testing sensors and running programmed cut paths, once the cameras went on all
that work was stopped, and both me and George missed out on almost six months of learning.
but we did have lots of fun playing in the snow and cold from the comforts of home.

what's the acreage and how long did it take?

mystreba, the areas I used for the first test of the friction driven reel mowers was less then
a 1/4 acre which the 40" deck made short work of(less then an hour of cut time). total area
George is projected to do is 5 acres in 6 hours(one charge cycle).

What's the next step?

Back to the basics. the longest cut path the Mule has to do is 10212.15 inches, the next step
is making it possible for the Mule to make a programmed straight cut path over that distance.

Tommy

 

[Two-Stroke]

Two-Stroke, all tests so far have been performed with a wired joystick and me walking along
side inspecting results. with that said, I'v come to believe that putting the cameras on George
last fall for ROV operations(snow removal) was a crackhead thing to do, last fall I was writing
software ,testing sensors and running programmed cut paths, once the cameras went on all
that work was stopped, and both me and George missed out on almost six months of learning.
but we did have lots of fun playing in the snow and cold from the comforts of home.


mystreba, the areas I used for the first test of the friction driven reel mowers was less then
a 1/4 acre which the 40" deck made short work of(less then an hour of cut time). total area
George is projected to do is 5 acres in 6 hours(one charge cycle).


Back to the basics. the longest cut path the Mule has to do is 10212.15 inches, the next step
is making it possible for the Mule to make a programmed straight cut path over that distance.

Tommy

George sure is a robust machine. The idea of any battery-operated mower being able to operate for six hours, cutting five acres on a single charge is amazing. Have you told us about the battery pack? This thread has been going for so long that I've forgotten all that's in it.

Does George self-correct while he's trying to navigate a straight path?

I'm not surprised that he doesn't operate in fully robotic mode -- that's very, very complex project. What you've done so far is certainly impressive. Keep up the good work and let us know when you make progress.

Just a thought: doesn't George deserve his own website -- including his own domain name?

 

[Tommy]

Have you told us about the battery pack?

Not sure, but when I started on the Mule I figured 480Ah(8 car batteries) of battery power would be
needed,I'v been operating with 240Ah(4 car batteries) over the winter. if I can use the friction drive
for mowing I can get by on just over 300Ah(6 car batteries). As is I have to use sandbags to replace
the weight of the missing batteries.

This thread has been going for so long that I've forgotten all that's in it.

When I started George I set a one year build time, but with all the down time this winter I'm
going to need more time I think.

Does George self-correct while he's trying to navigate a straight path?

This is an area George should excel with it's installed sensors, I should know by sunday if true
,if not, plan B.

doesn't George deserve his own website -- including his own domain name?

Because no effort or costs have be put towards looks, George is camera shy.


Tommy

 

[mystreba]

Because no effort or costs have be put towards looks, George is camera shy.

By that definition, I reckon I should avoid cameras at all cost then.

 

[Two-Stroke]

Not sure, but when I started on the Mule I figured 480Ah(8 car batteries) of battery power would be
needed,I'v been operating with 240Ah(4 car batteries) over the winter. if I can use the friction drive
for mowing I can get by on just over 300Ah(6 car batteries). As is I have to use sandbags to replace
the weight of the missing batteries.


When I started George I set a one year build time, but with all the down time this winter I'm
going to need more time I think.


This is an area George should excel with it's installed sensors, I should know by sunday if true
,if not, plan B.


Because no effort or costs have be put towards looks, George is camera shy.


Tommy

Wow, that's a lot of battery power -- -- and a lot of weight. I didn't realize George was that heavy.

I'm interested in the results of your test run on Sunday. Please keep us posted -- and thanks for taking the time to update this thread.