The Ministry of Education plans to buy up to 30 autonomous lawnmowers for schools. This is part of a new effort to improve management and maintenance for small and rural schools. A tender for proposals was sent out this week.
The goal is to help principals manage their properties more easily. The ministry is also testing the idea of sharing caretakers between schools and creating an 0800 number for urgent issues.
Companies have been promoting these smart mowers for schools for years. They use similar technology as Tesla’s self-driving cars, including computer vision and AI. These electric mowers can respond to weather changes and identify areas needing special care, like dry or unhealthy grass.
The mowers can be controlled from a phone, and future models will use AI to analyze data for better lawn care decisions. The ministry wants mowers with safety features and a focus on reducing environmental impact.
Currently, the ministry has 30 schools in mind for the auto-mowers, with sizes ranging from one to three hectares. Initial plans include rolling out eight mowers to test their effectiveness.
In total, the ministry oversees 2,100 schools and manages 8,000 hectares of land. A trial in Waikato is examining how to lessen the management burden on principals at small and rural schools. This trial does not include areas currently mowed by school caretakers, only those cared for by contractors.
