Spider
the radio controlled “toy” for the grown-ups
I have to admit that I was not expecting any robotic surprises at the agricultural fair Zahrada Čech 2004. While I was checking out the tractors if some of them could be converted into robots I've found remotely controlled law mower for heavy terain. The demo was impressive and to connect a computer instead of the remote control would certainly easier to do than designing some complicated mechanisms for tractor steering. The lawn mower Spider might just be our next outdoor robotic base.
 Lawn mower in action |
First of all the address from where we've taken the photos and where you can
find the official info:
Basic Info
Radio controlled rotary hillside mower Spider is designed for maintenace of
extreme hilside lawns (up to 40 degrees slope) such as embankments or ski runs.
The mower is equiped with Kawasaki/Kohler engine with 13.kW of power and has
80cm swath with remotely controlled hight (8 to 13cm). It weights 180Kg and its
dimensions are 1356 x 1200 x 913 mm so it definitely does not qualify as a
“toy”. It's Czech product but it is sold mostly abroad because of its
relatively high price of €15,500.
The interesting thing about Spider is its nonconventional actuations —
all wheels can turn together so the mower can go not only forward or backward
but in arbitrary direction. All wheels are powered so terain does not cause any
problems. Even though the maximum speed is only 7km/h I was feeling a bit
thrilled when the mower has flown by the audience .
 Top view |
 Remote control |
 Offroad experience |
Should you have any questions, remarks or additional info, feel free to use
the standard feedback form to let us know.