by: John Wright
Chances are, this is the first time you have ever heard of this new concept. Remote control lawn mowers are indeed on the market and it is a fast growing market at that. Surprisingly enough, this is not a new invention. The r/c lawn mower was invented by Jim Walker back in the 1950's without any help from Google or existing technology that the ones of today have spawned from. I got my feet wet in this new industry as a dealer for a Florida based company who's name I can not mention. This guy combined radio controlled airplane components with a lawn mower and an electric wheelchair to create his product. As useful as the idea is, he has yet to perfect his design in the 7 years he has been in business. On the other hand, there are several companies overseas that are far more advanced in research and development that are setting the standard in this new and exciting industry of remote control lawn mowers.
Here is a video of the remote control lawn mower above.
The advantages of a lawn mower being remotely controlled are plentiful. If you have ever attempted to mow steep hills out in the scorching sun, you can certainly appreciate this concept. Back in the days of being a dealer for the Floridian Shyster, I noticed a lot of my customers were elderly and disabled. Lawn care professionals, especially in mountainous regions, can appreciate a remote control lawn mower's ability to maintain steep slopes without having to put the whole crew out there with weed eaters. Being able to start and stop the engine and optional video control features just make things that much more practical. The video control option allows you to be able to mow the lawn from inside the house as if you were playing a video game.
While the concept niche of slope mowing is still evolving, there are several sound manufacturers already on board and staking their claim in the world of remote control lawn mowers.
Lynex, based out of Europe, is my favorite. I had the pleasure of meeting the owner at the GIE + EXPO back in 2009. They specialize in industrial type mega-machines that blow my mind. His latest creation called the GT-1500 is able to, not only mow steep hills, but his video shows it cutting down trees and mowing at the same time. Now, I am sure the average homeowner doesn't need a beast like this to keep their lawn trimmed, but it is still a marvelous machine to see. If I had $50K laying around I would buy one just to have it.
Spyder is another overseas company that has been at it for a while. Their machines are four-wheel drive four-wheel steer units that are also very amazing to see. This year they have started making smaller, less expensive remote control lawn mowers that more people can afford.
RoboFlail , like Spyder and Lynex, also uses hydraulics to power his 1200 pound machines through the thickest of brush on the steepest of slopes. I also met Simon Tullett at the expo in '09. What makes the RoboFlail stand out is the fuel tank is mounted in a cradle to keep it upright at any angel. They have also signed on with Scag (a leader of commercial mowers).
Now I just need to get in gear and put America on the map in this race to manufacture and distribute the world's greatest remote control lawn mower. My design has a less industrial and more of a commercial/residential back bone to it so more people can afford to own one. The above mentioned mega-machines are very impressive and all, but their distributors (some of which are awaiting my affordable design) are complaining of them being "slow sellers" because of their $20K and $50K price tags. As you can imagine, the excitement inside of me to show the world my design is overwhelming at times.
Finding an investor to fund the jump-starting into this gazillion dollar industry has been the toughest challenge I have ever faced.
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