Table of Contents:

Table of Contents: ............................................................................................................... 2

Introduction: ........................................................................................................................ 2
Problem Statement: ............................................................................................................. 2
Background Research: ........................................................................................................ 2
The Need: ............................................................................................................................ 3
The Objectives: ................................................................................................................... 3
Functional Requirements: ................................................................................................... 4
The Work Plan: ................................................................................................................... 4
Team Qualifications: ........................................................................................................... 4
Budget: ................................................................................................................................ 5
Summary: ............................................................................................................................ 5
The Projects Future:........................................................................................................... 5
.............................................................................................................. 6
References: ............

Introduction:
Lawn Mowing is a labor of the past. As history shows house hold tasks that are dull, dirty, and time
wasting have been replaced by machines. Some examples of machines that replaced time wasting
jobs include laundry replaced by the laundry machine and dishwashing replaced by the dish washer.
This is why a machine is needed to replace the task of lawn mowing. Furthermore, for individuals
with physical handicaps, it can be extremely difficult, if not, impossible. For people who cant cut
grass due to either a time restraint or a physical restraint, they need an easy solution. Therefore the
radio controlled lawn mower, known as The Green Monster, engineered previously will be
converted into a hybrid of a remote controlled and autonomous mowing system that will cut up to cle
time.
1.75 acres of grass in one cy
Problem Statement:
Today in America just about every home owner has some type of lawn. It is a norm for Americans to
keep grass in an orderly fashion. Therefore, it is a tedious task that e.
consumes physical effort and tim
Background Research:
Currently there are multiple ways of mowing lawns. The most traditional way to cut grass is to do it
yourself, using a push or ride on lawn mower. Another option is to hire a company to do so, which
gets expensive over time. The third way to do so would be to use a robotic lawn mower. The idea of
robotic lawn mowers are not a new idea, in fact there are several in the market today. All of these
robots use touch as object detection
which means the robot has to physically hit an object to know it is there. Current robotic lawn
mowers require a cable to be placed around the perimeter of the cutting area. These methods work
until the robot knocks over flower pots, or the battery dies in the electric fence and the robot decides
to explore the neighborhood.
After reviewing what our competitors have done to become successful, the design team came to the
realization that knowledge and skills in robotics, electronics, manufacturing, heat transfer, and
machine design would be a must. The team combined has experience in each of the previous fields.
Should more assistance be needed, a network of friends, coworkers will be utilized to support in the
design effort.
colleagues and
The Need:
Home and business owners alike need to cut their lawn on a regular basis. As for home owners those
with physical handicaps should not be forced to pay someone else to mow their lawn for them just
because they cant use traditional machines or technology. Also home owners without sufficient time
to mow their lawn would be a possible customer. As for businesses, the ones who want to cut over
head cost could use robotic lawn mowers. One of the biggest industries that have interest in robotic
lawn mowers would be the golfing industry. With the Robotic Green Monster, anyone who could
push a button, will be able to effortlessly manage their lawns appearance.
Lawns that are professionally managed such as golf courses and sporting fields such as baseball are
noticeably different in quality from an average once a week mowed grass. The reason for this is that
they a mowed once or sometimes multiple times a day. This allows the grass to grow at a consistent
height, and allows for the small fibers from the grass clippings to add nitrogen to the ground. A
robotic lawn mower can be used once a o, could look like Fenway Park!
day and your lawn, to
The Objectives:
This projects objectives consists of the following:
Enhance the remote controlled Green Monster by introducing a robotic mode
Increase the safety of the Green Monster
Protect electronic system against elements of the environment (Dirt, Heat, moisture)
Research, design, and test artificial intelligent systems capable of controlling the lawn mower
in a typical environment
Upgrade the cutter of the Green Monster to become more effective
Decrease the amount of rear tire spin on grass type surfaces

Functional Requirements:
Run time of 2.5 hours
Remote emergency stop
Will not cut items other than grass
Will stay in its intended area
Adjustable cutting heights
ent usage not for field and brush

Design For freq
The Work Plan:
1) Research cutting devices for lawn mowing in parallel with current autonomous robotic platforms
2) Research different sensor types along with information processing
3) Choose cutting method and design to work with the green monster platform
4) Design, analyze, and manufacture parts by hand and FEA if needed
5) Choose needed electronics and design an enclosure to keep them safe
6) Analyze heat transfer of enclosure to keep electronics at reasonable temperatures
7) Test cutter and robotic platform o design if needed
8) Implement revisions t
Team Qualifications:
J essica: Strengths include documentation, writing, and presenting. Also analytical skills where both
theoretical and experimental data can be calculated and compared. Jessica has experience with
statistical analysis, from fall of 2008 co-op, and many years of experience using CAD and
Solidworks.
Nathan: Strengths include mechanical design along with a wide variety of machining and
fabrication. Nate also has experience with modifying and assembling prototypes, product
development, testing, and robotics. He is also proficient with SolidWorks, Microsoft Office, and
Labview.
Andrew: Strengths include mechanical design. Andrew also has experience in fabrication including
welding and CNC machining. He is also proficient with Solid Works.
J ohn: Strengths include mechanical design. John has experience with product testing, CNC lathes,
radio control vehicles, various sensors, robotics and microprocessors. He is also proficient with
Solidworks and Cosmosworks.
Budget:
Sensors- $25
Travel - $75
Tires- $25
Misc Materials-$30
Misc hardware - $35
total - $215
Grand
Summary:
This project will challenge each individual team members as we are all each stepping outside our
knowledge range as mechanical engineering students. This project will not only involve mechanical
Research and development & D but also electrical, and software R &D. The team has little to no
experience in electronics or software programming. however the results will be rewarding.
This will be a great challenge
The Projects Future:
After the team completes the proposed goals, it is possible more upgrades will be added, since there
is always room for improvements. Potential upgrades may include a bagger with a self emptying
feature, a method to cut grass in the more traditional patterns, a web-cams (to provide a view from
inside the home), self charging, solar power, different trailer attachments (spreader/seeder), and
features for safety and anti-theft.
References:
"Agri-Fab." May. 2008 <http://www.agri-fab.com/>.
Basic Stamp Information May. 2008 <http://parallax.com/tabid/214/Default.aspx>
"Evatech." Evatech, Inc. May. 2008 <http://evatech.net/>.
How Robot Lawn Mowers from Auto Lawn Mow Work AutoLawnMow. May.2008
<http://www.robotlawnmowers.ie/how_the_robots_work.html>
"Richard L. Roberts." May. 2008 <http://myweb.wit.edu/robertsr/>.
"Robotic Lawn Mower - Robomower and Lawnbot Automatic Lawn Mowers." Bamabots. May. 2008
<http://www.bamabots.com/>.
"RobotLawnMower.Ca Robot Lawn Mowers and Lawnbot Accessories." RoboLawn. Jan.-Feb. 2008
<http://www.robotlawnmower.ca>.
"Robot Parts & Electronics." The Robot MarketPlace. Jan.-Feb. 2008
<http://www.robotmarketplace.com>.