Me and Mowby

 I guess I could go back and count the weeks but basically its been most of the summer since I've installed a Husqvarna Automower in my yard. I sell and install these units at work and having one at home has been a big asset in understanding their operation. Now I'm not one that usually names objects like cars or bikes or lawn mowers but you may know that our robotic mower is named Mowby Dick. While its true that he got the name cuz he's a dick, I've become quite attached to the little guy. Sure my liking for him is mostly based on the fact that he is absorbing much of the work load in the yard but sometimes when I'm trimming while he's mowing we play a game of catch or hide and seek. He likes to nip at my feet once he catches me and I enjoy the exercise of jumping out of his path.

 Ok enough of the silliness. This post was gonna be about a project at work. The boss wants a display area for these Automowers that we can take to trade shows or whatever. He bought some fake grass-like carpet and the plan was to attach the wiring underneath. We then could just roll the whole thing up and carry it away.

 The mower needs a boundary wire that sends a signal telling it to stop. I laid the wire where I wanted it...

 Then used some heavy duty tape to secure it to the bottom of the "grass". The wire runs on the grass side of the carpet in one area so people can see there is a wire boundary that the mower stays in. For whatever reason, I stopped taking pics of the project at this point so you'll have to use your imagination for the rest of this post. I'll help with some pics I found in my phone.

 Picture if you will, an automower and charging pad perched proudly on top of simulated grass. Maybe grass like this:

 And now imagine a short video of this mower moving around inside its boundaries on the fake grass carpet and returning to its charging station every four minutes. This is a program built into the mowers software just for these types of demos.  Maybe you can visualize a post or log standing in the middle of the carpet. Something that the mower can bounce off of and maybe doubles as a brochure stand. Good job. Now get on your scooter and take a nice long ride, you've earned it.

Later.