We like to consider ourselves on top of all the latest trends. In fashion? No, definitely not (unless Autmow polo shirts and khaki pants are back in). But in food? Also definitely not. We tend to stick to the classics, thank you very much. Where do we keep on top of trends then? In automated lawn mowing and in other areas of robotic property maintenance.
As a result, we wanted to share a few of the trends we noticed in automated lawn mowing (and beyond) in 2023. But just like a great infomercial, we say, “Wait! There’s more!” We also wanted to share our projections for what trends we anticipate in 2024.
You can see our thoughts in the video below. Or, if you absolutely cannot handle seeing more Autmow polos, we have laid out our thoughts in writing below that.
Industry Trends We Saw in 2023
2023 was absolutely huge in the autonomous property maintenance industry. More and more, our favorite machines are becoming mainstream, as people see the benefits of robotic lawn care. And obviously, it helps that the technology is just getting better and better.
Below, we lay out the three main trends we saw last year.
More Wireless Options in Automated Lawn Mowing
The expansion of wireless options was one of the most substantial developments in automated lawn mowing in 2023. Let’s be honest: many customers do not want to have to run wire around their property. Making matters worse, that wire usually breaks once or twice a season, which is a huge hassle. So more wireless robotic mowing systems leads to a better user experience for most customers.
Beyond just the fact that wireless options are less hassle, the technology also allows for even better products. Wireless robotic lawn mowers lead to more precise cutting and more efficient cutting. Rather than wander aimlessly around within a boundary wire, wireless models develop patterns that allow them to mow a larger area on just one charge. (Added bonus: pattern cutting looks better. And as anyone who watches our videos knows, we do love our stripies!)
Putting these points together, then, wireless models made the user experience even better for robotic mower customers in 2023.
More Demand
Another trend that we saw in the automated lawn mowing industry in 2023 was more people looking to robotic mowers as a viable solution to their needs.
We particularly saw more demand from the managers of commercial and municipal properties. Unfortunately, 2023 was a tough year for many companies and government agencies. Both labor shortages and budget challenges had a major impact on how they operate. Many moved to automated lawn mowing to lower costs and reduce the strain on their employees by allowing them to use their time on other aspects of property maintenance.
Another reason for the increased demand, for both commercial customers and residential ones, is the desire to be environmentally friendly. Many customers simply want to be good stewards of the planet we call home. In some communities, the need for environmentally-friendly lawn care solutions is becoming required by law. Either way, automated lawn mowing solutions are significantly better for the environment than traditional lawn care tools (which are actually some of the worst pollutants in existence.)
More Solutions Offered
Of course, where there is more demand, there tends to be increased competition. And we certainly saw that this year in automated lawn mowing. The industry is exploding, with lots of brands coming out.
In many ways, this increased competition is a benefit to consumers. As Adam Smith pointed out long ago (and yes, we mean the economics guy, not your 8th grade lab partner), more competition leads to even better products at fair prices.
Perhaps the greatest example of innovation in 2023 continues to push the industry out of just automated lawn mowing. The much-anticipated Yarbo 3-in-1 system began to ship this past year. What is special about Yarbo is its modularity. The base unit comes with attachments. The Snow Blower (Yarbo S1) is out now. Soon, customers can use the same robotic base to attach to a lawn mower and a leaf blower.
As the automated industry continues to grow, we at Autmow are at a unique precipice. Now is the time for us to really work toward what we call “consolidation.” In other words, we have spent this year evaluating which brands are willing to put in the effort behind innovation. Which are going to separate from the pack as the highest-quality robotic mowers out there? That way, we can continue to live up to our commitment to only provide the best solutions for your needs.
Industry Trends that Get Us Excited About 2024
OK, OK, you got us. We love automated lawn mowing, so we were always going to be pumped to see what would come in 2024. But there are two main aspects of the industry that have us particularly excited. One is a general trend, and the other is an awesome new innovative product that will be launching.
We discuss both in more depth below.
Vision Tech in Automated Lawn Mowing
Robotic mowers continue to become more and more impressive. As we noted above, a huge shift over the past year has been robot mowers no longer needing boundary wire. But of course, as with all innovations, the solution, while better, has a few issues of its own. More and more tweaks are needed to make it even better for consumers.
In this case, one of the problems involves the fact that no boundary wires means connecting to satellites through RTK technology. But if you have ever tried to use your cell phone in a tunnel or an elevator, you can guess the issue. RTK can lose signal. For automated lawn mowing or other property maintenance robots, this usually happens because of tree cover, though sometimes parts of a building can also block a signal. And when a robotic mower (or snow blower, golf range picker, etc.) loses signal, it shuts down. Or, it goes where you didn’t want it to.
Vision technology helps overcome this obstacle. In essence, this technology involves cameras that serve as “eyes” for the robot. If the robotic mower loses connection with the satellite, it can look at the surrounding area to figure out where it is. In other words, vision tech adds a layer of redundancy so the robot never loses its place.
Why is this exciting? Before, many homeowners or property maintenance professionals were limited to models that used a boundary wire. But now, many more people can enjoy this environmentally-friendly, lower-cost alternative to traditional lawn care (and more!)
traqnology
The second item that has us All Shook Up (as Elvis would say) is what is being put out by Traqnology. And really, it connects to what we mentioned earlier about new innovative products being offered all the time in our industry.
Traqnology represents some new and exciting territory for us at Autmow, as it’s a bit of a departure from our typical product lineup. Where we typically focus on fully-autonomous products, the approach Traqnology has taken is that of a bolt-on solution for existing products to breathe new life into aging equipment and provide RTK precision to a wide range of turf management tasks.
And when we say that Traqnology and its applications can handle a wide range of tasks, we ain’t lying. It can assist with all of the main functions you need to maintain your sports turf. Specifically, this one tool helps control fertilizing, spraying, line painting, and mowing. And with its precise GPS technology, it can also create beautiful stripe patterns on your turf, patterns which are completely customizable. So, you can create, for example, the really wide mowing stripes of a soccer pitch or the narrower stripes of a baseball outfield. As you can imagine, having all of these functions controlled within just one platform will lead to some serious efficiency and some great cost-effectiveness.
If you would like to learn more about Traqnology, fill out the contact form on our website.
Autmow: Your Trusted Name for Automated Lawn Mowing (and More!)
We want to end this post by sincerely thanking all of our customers. As we said above, this industry has really boomed over the past year. We appreciate that so many people have turned to Autmow to get information about robotic mowers and other autonomous lawn tools. Whether you have read our blogs, watched our videos, or contacted us, we have gotten to discuss this passion of ours with so many people this year. So again, thank you.
And of course, we look forward to working with you in 2024!