Helicopter pilot and friend of Mueller Aviation & MUROC, affectionately known as ‘Choppy’, recently brought his semi-autonomous mower robot to Mueller.  Year 9 and 10 STEM/Aerospace students were delivered a talk on robotics and systems before Choppy unloaded his 200kg creation from his van at the back of the oval.

First, it was placed (via the height adjustable actuator-driven cutter blade) in slasher mode to enable the machine to chew its way through some tall swamp grass. Choppy then took it over some soft ground right near the edge of the water to highlight the fact that these things can go where normal machines and humans can’t.

After this, the robot mower did some ‘finesse’ cutting on the oval of normal height grass. The plan for this machine is to put an autopilot on it as well as a mechanical arm to extend its range of applications. It was a great demonstration for the students of robots in action.

Thanks to Choppy and Scout Aerial for taking the time to come out to demonstrate robotic grass cutting to the students. Before parents start ringing to put in their order, it should be noted this creation is one of a kind…so far!