21 April 2015, 08:35
iMow: The small label sits so perfectly and easily on the green robot lawn mower. And this is exactly what the machines does in Paderborn. Gerd Vieler has chosen the ever more popular form of lawn care.
Around 350 square metres large and, at first glance, a quite normal garden, is the site of the iMow's future home. However, as so often the devil is in the detail. So the device does not come on its own, but instead is brought and expertly installed by Michael Roggenkamp. From April to October, the ordinary workday for the engineer for agricultural and construction machinery almost entirely involves small machines.
The 26 year-old from AGRAVIS Technik Saltenbrock GmbHin Salzkotten looks after the small device workshop. For Michael Roggenkamp, the robots are the royalty of small devices because of their technical finesse and varied uses: "Correctly advising the customers and finding the ideal settings for each of them requires a lot of expertise. There are as many variables as there are possibilities."
Good reasons to choose the robot lawn mower
A beautiful garden with little effort or the fascination for new technology – these are the main reasons people state when they buy an automatic mower. This why the 58 year-old Vieler made the purpose: "For time reasons I don't get around to looking after the lawn regularly." The small green helper was therefore ideal for him. But not everyone who wants the robot's help can use it so easily.
For example, the property in Paderborn was first mapped using satellite pictures, and then personally inspected and analysed as to whether the use of the mower was even possible. A flat, square area is perfect, preferably without barriers such as trees, bushes, ponds, roots or too much height difference. Gerd Vieler's property is not up and down, but there ar trees and shed to makde the unhindered operation of the mower difficult.
Extra training for sellers
Michael Roggenkamp therefore has to lay a cable around the entire area before things can get started. This shows the robot its boundaries: "When the mower reaches the wire, it turns around." This prevents the mower from getting stuck, wedged or damaging the blades - or falling into a pond.
So that everything succeeds quickly and smoothly, Michael Roggenkamp has had special training. "A seller who has not taken the corresponding seminars is not allowed to sell the mowers for us," he explains. The installation by the expert costs money, but the advantage is that everything remains in one hand and the robot is then also services regularly and provided with required updates or refits. The rest is up to the individual. "Almost any setting is possible: driving time, time of day, weather conditions, cutting height," explains Roggenkamp.
Advantages of constant mowing
For Gerd Vieler the iMow is to work for two hours in the afternoon. But only if it is dry. Under these conditions, the mower will need around a week to cut the entire area into one length. The small display in the rear of the robot provides information about all this. The settings can also be changed by the owner at any time if required.
The uniform image of the lawn at the end is not only positibe for the garden owner. "Constant mowing is also good for the lawn. The grass is never too long and the area is constantly mulched, i.e. fertilised."