RC Mower Keeps the Lawn Looking Sharp From Afar
elliotmade built this remote-controlled mower to help his wheelchair-using friend maintain his yard without having to rely on someone else.
You might joke that you’re “trimming the trees” while flying your quadcopter and the like. This Honey I Shrunk the Kids-esque lawn mower, however, literally cuts the grass while under remote control with an FPV camera for navigation. The device was built by “elliotmade” for a friend who is a wheelchair user, enabling him to keep his yard looking sharp without having to rely on someone else.
Notably here, the first version of the mower was made in 2016, and is still working, but Elliot wanted to add a few improvements. Given the longevity of the proof of concept, this one should be incredibly useful.
The build cost around $600-$700, including a mower from Craigslist that Elliot stripped down and added on a welded frame to support the new automation components — wheelchair/scooter-style wheels, motors, and of course, a small drone FPV camera. 24V power is supplied by a pair of 12V batteries in series, which starts the lawn mower. Once on, these batteries are recharged progressively via an alternator hooked up to the motor’s gasoline engine. In theory, it will never run out of electrical “juice,” just gas.
Motor control is provided by a “traditional” RC Rx/Tx setup, along with an Arduino Nano to translate inputs into relay signals for the starter and ignition duties. It’s a great and very functional setup, but Elliot does note a few things in his post that you should consider before implementing such an RC machine.