MANCHESTER, N.H. — Robots are doing more everyday tasks for Americans and the newest takeover may be coming to your backyard.
Tucked away in a quiet section of New Hampshire’s largest city sits a roughly half-acre sized open lawn where a white robot makes hourly patrols.
That robot is a Honda Miimo lawn mower. It makes regular trips across the yard, constantly trimming grass to ensure it stays at a maintained length.
“It’s unreal,” said salesman Kevin Sutter, who sells the Miimo at Nault’s Powersports in Manchester, N.H. “It’s spectacular.”
This robot is actually patrolling a side yard at the home of his boss and store owner, Richard Nault. Sutter says Nault is the only person currently using the Miimo in New England.
The set-up is relatively simple but there is some installation necessary before the $2,600 robot can do its job.
A green cable runs along the edges of the property in the ground, ensuring Miimo doesn’t wander off and start mowing the entire neighborhood.
“It goes out of the docking, it does a scan around the whole yard, and starts making its cuts,” Sutter explained. “The unit is set up to run 86 hours on this sized lot.”
That means to complete an entire trim cycle on his boss’s yard, it will take over three and a half days. Once it’s programmed, the machine does not need to be touched again.
That number can vary based on the size of the property and when you want the robot to operate. Sutter says the machine is quiet enough to operate in the middle of the night without interrupting your neighbors.
“I’ve been in the business for 22 years. For me, to see for it to get to this level — it’s incredible,” said the salesman.
Of course, it isn’t perfect.
While mowing the test-site, the Miimo repeatedly returned to its dock.
“It goes for an hour, goes back to the docking station, it charges for an hour,” explained Sutter.
Also, the robot will not be able to slay the jungle that may build up on a property.
“So, you have to have a groomed lot and then from there it maintains it,” Sutter said. “It always looks like this.”
Miimo can cross over mulch, but can’t cross pavement. If you have a small section of grass encircled by pavement — like walkways or a driveway — you may still need to mow that manually.
And one robot may not be able to maintain your entire property.
Sutter said Nault would need three Miimo robots to fully maintain his property — primarily due to logistics with driveways cutting off parts of the property.
Though for overall property size context, the motorcycle dealer has enough garage space on his suburban Manchester property for nine cars.
If you are worried about someone snatching your new robotic groundskeeper, Honda says an alarm goes off whenever the machine is lifted off the ground. Nault also has cameras on his property to make sure no one with sticky fingers tries to make off with the robot.
Also, no need to worry about losing fingers or toes because of a wayward robot. Sutter said it moves at a very slow pace and detects obstacles in its way. And whenever it is picked up, the blades stop and retract.
The salesman is sold.
“I think everybody would benefit if everybody had a manicured lot,” stated Sutter. “It’s an incredible unit.”
