Robot Mowers
Come to Vegetation
Management
Story and Photos by Jason Grossman,
Manager of Transmission and Distribution
Vegetation, Liberty Utilities
Using technology to reduce costs is not a new
concept for vegetation managers, but staying
informed and up-to-date on new technologies can be
hard and adapting them to fit within our existing pro-
cesses is a challenge. Add in safety and environmental
sustainability and the process can become daunting.
Liberty Utilities Vegetation Management (VM) group
has come up with an innovative idea for facilities
maintenance that circles "D) All of the above."
The VM group was tasked with mowing facilities in
2018 and began implementing mowing by robots.
The electronic mower runs on a lithium ion battery,
which helps reduce emissions from unregulated
gasoline engines. It runs on a minimal amount of
electricity and is very quiet when compared to
traditional mowers. While robot mowers are very
adaptable and customizable, they present some chal-
lenges for the conventional approach to mowing.
New robot mowers require a new way to think
about landscape design and maintenance. One of
the challenges the VM group faced at the Liberty >>
urban-forestry.com 27
For approximately the
same cost as the trans-
former and installation, a
solar-powered generator
can be used, which virtually
eliminates the carbon foot-
print of the robot mower.
The robot mower's solar-power generator
is housed within the substation fence.
