Honda launches AI-equipped "automatic lawn mower! Replicating the skills of a master craftsman, Honda puts all its effort into automatic driving technology!

Honda has developed the ProZision Autonomous, an electric automatic lawnmower for the landscaping management industry. This product memorizes the work of skilled operators and reproduces beautiful results with autonomous operation. It significantly improves work efficiency on large areas of land, contributing to the elimination of labor shortages and zero emissions.

ProZision Autonomous to help improve work efficiency and zero emissions in landscaping management

Honda has developed a series of lawn mowers for general household use since the release of its first walking lawn mower, the HR21, in 1978. The company's mowing performance, operability, and safety have been highly evaluated, and many users, mainly in North America and Europe, have been using the company's products. In 2012, the company launched Miimo, a robotic lawnmower that focuses on labor-saving green space management. In 2025, the company developed the ProZision Autonomous, a motorized automatic lawn mower mainly focused on the landscape management industry, including landscape architects and public facilities, for the North American market, where there is an extremely high need for more efficient lawn mowing operations for large areas of land. There are three types of lawn mowers: a hand-pushed walking type, a robot type like Miimo, and a passenger type, Honda has also developed the ProZision, a manually operated ZTR-type electric riding mower with a battery-powered motor, and the ProZision Autonomous combines an autonomous driving system based on this type. The ProZision Autonomous remembers the work done by skilled operators at various sites, and then travels autonomously along the same route as the operator to reproduce beautifully finished work. After ensuring the safety of the automated work area, the operator can leave the mowing work to ProZision Autonomous, allowing him or her to perform other tasks, greatly improving work efficiency. The system aims to contribute to measures to address labor shortages at landscaping management companies and to make zero-emission work possible. The project is also part of Honda's efforts to achieve carbon neutrality in all of its products and corporate activities by 2050.

ProZision Autonomous

Memorizes the mowing work of skilled operators and realizes accurate automatic work by autonomous driving.

Automatic generation of a route map from a skilled operator's driving trajectory in teaching mode

Mowing with ProZision Autonomous starts with manual operation by the operator. First, the teaching mode is selected, and the operator mows the lawn in one step. A skilled and experienced operator will operate the machine in a straight line, without leaving any residue, and with a beautifully finished lawn. This driving trajectory is used to automatically generate a route map for autonomous driving based on wheel speed and acceleration obtained from the aircraft and GNSS*2 positioning. Since high positional accuracy is required to obtain a mowing-free finish, in addition to signals from satellites, corrections from base stations on the ground are used to improve positional accuracy to the level of several centimeters. The route maps thus generated are stored on a cloud server, making it possible to create route maps for multiple sites with a single ProZision Autonomous. In addition, if a company owns multiple aircraft, it can download the route map for any site to enable appropriate work, thereby enabling extremely efficient landscaping management. In addition, the obstacle detection function may prevent autonomous driving when approaching obstacles too closely during teaching. To avoid this, the system is equipped with a function that automatically corrects the route map.

GNSS = Global Navigation Satellite System: a generic name for GPS and other global positioning satellite systems

Automatically and accurately work on a large site according to a route map in playback mode

Playback mode is an autonomous driving mode. The operator transports the ProZision Autonomous to any location within the turf area where teaching has been conducted, first downloads a route map of the site to the machine via a dedicated app on a smartphone or tablet*3, selects playback mode, sets the mowing height and other settings, and then starts mowing. Once the machine is started, it travels autonomously to the starting point of mowing and begins mowing the lawn. The operator's setting time can be shortened. Once the work is started, the mower safely and accurately mows the lawn according to the route map generated in the teaching mode. Even operators who are not familiar with the operation of riding mowers can easily operate the system, and while the ProZision Autonomous is mowing the lawn, the operator can spend time on other tasks on the property, which can be expected to significantly improve work efficiency. *3 No download is required when using the same machine as the teaching mode.

Smartphone application for easy operation of multiple ProZision Autonomous at various sites

A dedicated ProZision Autonomous app has been developed for intuitive operation of each teaching and playback mode. Advanced functions that support beautiful results are easily accessible.

Note: Screen image is under development and is an example

Note: Screen image is under development and is an example

Traction control system for high-precision automatic lawn mowing even on slopes and rough ground

It is believed that the most beautiful way to make a large lawn area look beautiful is to mow in a straight line back and forth across the property. However, we considered that conditions are not always constant even at the same site, such as uneven ground, slopes, and turf conditions depending on the season and weather, making autonomous driving according to the route difficult in some cases. Therefore, with the cooperation of four-wheel developers, a unique traction control system was incorporated into ProZision Autonomous. This system uses differential two-motor traction control of the rear wheels, which are the drive wheels, to suppress the slip of each of the left and right wheels, enabling stable straight driving and turning even on hilly, sloping, or rough terrain. Moreover, while maintaining a straight trajectory, the machine achieves highly accurate work by maintaining a reciprocating mowing overlap of ±150 mm. In addition to this, especially on sloping terrain, the deterioration of the finish caused by peeling of the turf due to tire slip can be reduced. The combination of this stable driving and the know-how accumulated through the use of twin blades and other proven walking lawn mowers has realized the "carpet-like finish" that only Honda lawn mowers can provide.

Equipped with LiDAR and radar sensors to detect obstacles with 360° sensing

The most important factor in autonomous operation of the ProZision Autonomous is safety measures for the area around the machine. If there are obstacles that were not present during teaching, such as vehicles parked for unloading work materials or temporarily placed cones, LiDAR*4 detects them and stops the vehicle. The system also takes into account the danger of an operator or other workers approaching the vicinity or path of the aircraft while ProZision Autonomous is working automatically, or if ProZision Autonomous approaches the operator or other workers, Four LiDAR and four radar sensors each provide 360° sensing. When the system stops, a notification is sent to the work manager's smartphone application via a cloud server. *4 LiDAR = Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging: A sensing technology that uses laser light to survey objects.

In addition to an emergency stop brake, the machine is equipped with a deceleration mechanism for gentle control without damaging the turf.

During automatic operation in playback mode, the machine sets a target path to accurately trace the taught path. At the same time, the machine senses obstacles near the target path using LiDAR and decelerates gently when it detects an obstacle. This prevents damage to the turf caused by sudden braking. *There are limits to the capabilities (recognition and control capabilities) of each function. Depending on the work site conditions, weather conditions, or the condition of the machine, there may be cases in which the function does not work or does not fully demonstrate its performance.

Other safety features

● Rearward discharge mechanism for lawn mowing and safety A discharge mechanism that discharges mowed grass while traveling is adopted to eliminate the need for collecting and disposing of grass clippings. In consideration of unmanned operation, the rearward discharge mechanism is adopted to minimize the impact of scattering of pebbles and other debris. The speed is automatically slowed down at high workloads to prevent clogging of the lawn and mowing. Remote Stop Switch Emergency stop can be made at the operator's hand during automatic operation. The remote stop switch can also be used to stop the machine via a smartphone app in case of non-emergencies.

Superior basic performance that replaces human work and fully performs a day's work

Maximum speed of 6 mph in playback mode, including on sloping terrain, with a mowing capacity of 3 acres (approx. 12,000 m2) per hour and more than 4 hours of operation on a single charge, the machine can significantly improve the efficiency of landscaping management operations. A green space with a large expanse of lawn is a landscape that is pleasing to the eyes and restful to the soul. At the same time, however, the landscaping companies that maintain and manage them face a variety of social issues, such as capital investment, soaring fuel costs, labor shortages, and environmental measures. ProZision Autonomous will support sustainable corporate activities by providing an autonomous solution for lawn mowing operations that significantly improves efficiency at work sites, thereby contributing to reduced operating costs and zero emissions from operations. To the gallery (12)

Information courtesy of [Honda].