The EETC Annual Conference in Auburn, Ala. included an update on the latest developments of the Husqvarna Automower. According to Husqvarna’s Robert Ayers, many of the company’s first generation robotic mowers introduced in 1995 are still in use today. “We still get customers calling asking for parts,” he says.
The latest developments to the Husqvarna Automower 300 and 400 series includes the replacement of the user interface keypad with Bluetooth technology that can be controlled from a smart phone or Apple watch. Thanks to the units’ GPS, it can be found anywhere it goes, unless the unit itself is destroyed. In one case, GPS traced a stolen unit to the thief’s driveway, where it was not immediately visible. (It was stashed in a trunk.)
Ayers says many Automower owners customize and even name their machines. His is “Jacob 2.0”—a reference to (human) son, Jacob, who, unlike the Automower, is reluctant to cut the grass. Ayers offered a glimpse inside a fourth generation Automower, revealing that there isn’t much there. It’s all in the software, he says. “After 20 years of playing with this thing, we’ve learned how to make the software behave better,” says Ayers.