Objective
Fuel-powered ride-on mowers continue to be the most used alternative for the maintenance of large and multi lawn green areas, because of their high cutting efficiency (i.e. 20,000m2/14 hours). However, they have serious drawbacks such as gasoline consumption and spill, pollutant emissions, injuries, and high both operational costs and operator time requirements.
Based on the more than 22 years’ experience into the robotic lawn mower market of our mother company, at Robotic Lawn Care AB, we are developing the cleanest and most highly efficient multi lawn mowing tool able to replace the current fossil-fuel driven mowers: the Multi Lawn System (MLS, patent pending). By using fleets of robotic mowers powered by high-performance batteries and controlled by a build-in IoT system, MLS covers large areas with unparalleled efficiency and 10h of autonomy, requiring an operator for only 30 min. Unlike ride-on mowers, MLS reduces drastically staff labour requirement (85% less) and mowing time (30% less), leading to up 60% reduction of lawn care costs per m2/year.
MLS prototype is at TRL7. Using it we run a pilot project in the VårGårdhotel (Sweden), demonstrating a reduction of 96% of operator’s time. We have closed contracts with big clients such as Steen & Lund (largest landscape gardening company, Norway), Port of San Diego (US), and several municipalities across Sweden. To reach the TRL9 we need to optimize MLS performance (battery/software/base station) and its build-in IoT system.
We will seize the €2 billion robotic lawn mower market fast growing, renting and selling MLS to lawn tenants (B2C) and care services companies (B2B), respectively. Hence, after reach TRL9 (requiring €2 million), its commercialization will begin by 2022 across Sweden, to then continue towards Norway, Germany and France. By 2026, we foresee to create 13 new jobs and €35.5 million of cumulative revenues from which €23.8 million represent gross profits (ROI 6.5).
Fields of science
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringenergy and fuelsliquid fuels
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencesinternetinternet of things
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencessoftware
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectrical engineeringpower engineeringelectric power transmission
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectronic engineeringrobotics
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1Coordinator
737 32 FAGERSTA
Sweden
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.