How Autonomous Mowers Are Reshaping Public Spaces
- Oct 26
- 3 min read
Updated: Nov 5
Author: Adam Beck
Date Published: October 26, 2025
In Australian culture, parks are far more than green spaces. They are the heart of community life, where families gather, children play, and neighbours connect.
In South East Queensland, where the subtropical climate enables year-round outdoor activity, the importance of well-maintained public open spaces cannot be overstated. Brisbane City Council alone maintains over 2,180 parks across the municipality, representing a substantial ongoing investment in infrastructure that demands efficient, sustainable management solutions.
The maintenance burden can be significant. Traditional petrol-powered mowing requires substantial labour resources, generates emissions and noise pollution, and struggles with persistent workforce shortages. Enter autonomous lawnmowing technology, which is quietly revolutionising how we care for public spaces.
Proven Viability on Golf Courses
The golf course sector has already proven the viability of autonomous mowing at scale. Woodford Golf Club in Queensland has successfully deployed Husqvarna CEORA robotic mowers for fairway maintenance, demonstrating the technology's reliability in Australian conditions. These battery-powered systems deliver exceptional turf quality through frequent, consistent cutting while eliminating direct emissions and operating at near-silent levels.
Case studies show cost savings of up to fifty percent compared to conventional mowing, primarily through reduced labour requirements and elimination of fuel costs.
Environmental Benefits
The environmental benefits extend beyond zero operational emissions. Autonomous mowers enable maintenance during off-peak hours without noise disruption, allow staff redeployment to higher-value tasks requiring human expertise, and deliver superior turf health through more frequent cutting cycles.
Public Works/Maintenance Budget
For underfunded local governments facing mounting pressure to maintain extensive park networks with constrained budgets, autonomous mowing represents not just operational efficiency but strategic transformation. These systems demonstrate that public area mobile robots can safely and effectively operate in shared spaces, establishing both technical capability and community acceptance.
As landscape contractors and councils witness proven outcomes in golf course applications, autonomous lawnmowing emerges as the practical on-ramp to broader deployment of mobile robotics in public infrastructure. The technology is mature, the benefits are quantifiable, and the pathway to implementation is clear.
Other Benefits of Robotic Lawnmowers
In addition to the operational efficiencies and environmental benefits mentioned above, here is a concise list of benefits that can be used to develop the business case for city councils to approve a trial or full deployment of robotic lawnmowers:
1. Consistent Maintenance Schedule
Autonomous mowers can operate on preset schedules regardless of (most)weather conditions or staff availability, ensuring parks always look well-maintained without the unpredictability of manual scheduling.
2. Quieter Operation
Electric autonomous mowers produce significantly less noise pollution than gas-powered alternatives, making parks more pleasant for visitors and reducing disturbance to nearby residential areas.
3. Enhanced Safety
By removing human operators from potentially hazardous mowing tasks, autonomous mowers can reduce workplace injuries. Be sure to confirm that the model(s) you choose have sensors that always detect obstacles and stop or navigate clearly away from people and their pets.
4. Frequent Mowing Improves Turf Quality
Autonomous mowers can cut grass more frequently with smaller clippings that decompose quickly, acting as natural fertilizer. This promotes healthier, denser turf compared to less frequent traditional mowing.
5. Night and Off-Peak Operation
Autonomous mowers can work during early morning or evening hours—and overnight in some cases—when parks have fewer visitors, minimizing disruption to park users while maximizing efficiency.
6. Reduced Soil Compaction
Lighter-weight autonomous mowers cause less soil compaction than heavy traditional mowers and equipment that also carry a human rider. This promotes better grass root development and water absorption.
7. Reduced Turf Damage
Without the turning patterns of large mowers and potential for operator error, autonomous mowers cause less wear on grass, particularly in high-traffic or sensitive areas.
Next Steps
URF does not endorse or recommend any particular brand or type of robot. We are focused on sharing use cases and facilitating pilot projects and advising on preparing for the safe and effective governance and deployment of robots in public spaces. Please contact us if you would like our advisory support. Additional resources include:
Husqvarna - Sweden - https://www.husqvarnagroup.com/
AM Robots (Auto-Mow) - Denmark - https://am-robots.com/
Harxon - China - https://en.harxon.com/
Kress - Germany - https://www.kress.com/
Mammotion - China - eg. Price Comparison/Guide:
If you haven't already read URF's Executive Guide to PMRs, it is available as a free download.
Comments