Segway debuts its new Navimow i110N Robot Lawn Mower on Amazon after a successful European launch that began two weeks ago. Now available for pre-order, the new i Series models are designed for yards up to 1/4-acre in size and introduce the company’s updated Exact Fusion Location System 2.0, a vision-enhanced RTK GPS, alongside AI-assisted mapping functionality to meticulously navigate complex terrain and adapt to any changes as they appear.
“With Navimow i coming to Amazon, we’re making effortless, affordable robotic lawn care available across the US. We harnessed the power of AI robotics to make our tech work hard so consumers don’t have to. This latest offering provides a host of smart features delivering an easy-to-use product at a competitive price point, making the i Series more accessible than almost every other robotic mower on the market.”
George Ren, CEO of Segway Navimow.
The Navimow i110N requires no perimeter wires, instead opting for advanced and automatic AI-assisted mapping to provide more convenient and effortless lawn care. Setup only takes a few taps on your smartphone – simply plot out your lawn’s boundaries and let the automated system of the robot take over. From here the robot will navigate within the set borders, identifying and assessing the optimal route to cover the entire space, debris and all. Once it begins mowing, it will not stop until it completes the job – even pausing upon a low battery to return to its station for recharging and resuming once it is back to full power.
The standout feature is the improved Exact Fusion Location System 2.0 that works in tandem with the AI-assistance, elevating its capabilities above the more standard robot mowers that are currently on the market. However complicated your garden space or overall terrain may be, this mower’s RTK (real-time kinematic) technology that utilizes satellite navigation systems will be able to keep track of the robot’s positioning within a few centimeters’ difference – even when it may disappear under trees or through narrow corridors. This feature also doubles as a security measure, allowing you to track the robot’s real-time location in cases of theft.
Compared to other robot mowers that may rely on ultrasonic sensors or bumpers to identify obstacles or structures, this new model sports a 140-degree field-of-view camera with built-in AI algorithms to detect many different types of commonly found objects and adjust routes around them. With these systems working together, this mower can safely traverse around shrubs, trees, fallen branches, garden borders, playing children, animals, and the natural twists and turns of the landscape.
Aside from the automated performance of the Navimow i110N, you will have complete smart controls over its actions and settings. Through the companion app you can set schedules, mark off-limit zones, or otherwise customize the robot’s mowing route and settings – with enough memory for 12 different zones. It also comes with an IP66 waterproof rating to withstand the elements and a Ride-on Boundary mode that allows it to perfectly straddle boundary lines, maintaining the crisp edges that many other robotic mowers struggle to reach.
All-in-all, you’ll have everything you’ll need right out of the box. You’ll get the robot itself, a charging station and installation kit with power supply, an extension cable as well as pegs to secure the cable – depending on where you plan to place the station – spare blades and bolts, and both an antenna to connect to the satellite system alongside the antenna’s installation kit.
With Segway’s Navimow i110N you can “set it and forget it” as you go about your life as usual
Segway’s new Navimow i110N will be available in two models, one for 1/8-acre yards and one for 1/4-acre yards. The 1/4-acre model is now available for pre-order on Amazon with a $1,299 price tag, while the 1/8-acre model has yet to be added, but should be coming relatively soon. Shipping is scheduled to begin March 25.
Multi-million-dollar grants adding up to more than $46 million from the US Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) will help support electrification efforts at several American ports.
The Long Beach Container Terminal (LBCT) in Long Beach, California has received a $34.9 million grant from the FHWA to replace 155 on-site commercial trucks and buses with zero-emission vehicles (ZEV). The grant will fund both the purchase of new electric trucks and the necessary charging infrastructure to support them.
LBCT said the grant dollars will allow it to continue its multi-billion dollar investments in more sustainable logistical operations. “Our vehicle electrification project, coupled with previous investments, enables LBCT to achieve a unique status that is reframing the way the world views sustainable goods movement, enhancing community quality of life and climate change,” said Anthony Otto, CEO of LBCT.
“This investment is a huge win for clean air, electrification and the region,” said US House Rep. Robert Garcia. “These federal dollars will make our port cleaner, safer and help us meet our climate goals.”
Container ports used to be some of the dirtiest, most heavily polluted areas in the world. That was bad for everyone – but it was especially bad for the people who lived and worked near them. That’s why any positive change is good. Beyond just “positive change,” however, ports today seem to be leading the way when it comes to electric vehicle and hydrogen adoption.
How things change!
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German equipment manufacturer Kramer showed off a pair of zero-emission equipment options at the Paris Intermat show last week – the 5065e electric wheel loader and 1445e electric telehandler.
Kramer says the quiet operation of its new electric wheel loader and telehandler are ideal for noise-sensitive areas such as city centers, cemeteries and golf courses, hotels, and suburban parks and recreation areas, where it can operate without emitting harmful diesel particulate matter and other forms of air pollution.
Kramer-Werke GmbH is serious about promoting its new EVs in the French market. “That’s why Intermat is an important platform for us,” explains Christian Stryffeler, Kramer’s Managing Director. “We are also looking forward to showcasing our new generation of (electric) wheel loaders and telescopic wheel loaders here.”
Kramer 5065e wheel loader
The 5065e loader is powered a 37.5 kWh, 96V lithium-ion battery that’s good for up to four hours of continuous operation – which is a lot more than it sounds, considering idle time in an EV doesn’t drain batteries the way idling a diesel drains fuel. A 23 kW (30 hp) electric motor drives the electric wheel loader around the job site, while a 25 kW (approx. 35 hp) motor powers the machine’s 40 liters hydraulic system.
Kramer says the battery on its electric loader can be fully charged in just 5.1 hours using a “Type 2 Wallbox” (that’s an L2 charger to you and me). Max payload is 1750 kg, with a 2800 kg tipping load. Top speed is 20 km/h (approx. 12.5 mph).
Kramer 1445e telehandler
The 1445e telehandler uses a 96V battery architecture that’s similar to the one in the wheel loader, but in a smaller 18 kWh or 28 kWh pack. This enables a fleet manager to right-size their equipment’s batteries to provide four hours of run time in different types of work environments. And, also like the wheel loader, a 23 kW (30 hp) electric motor provides the drive while a 25 kW (approx. 35 hp) powers the hydraulics.
Level 2 charging comes standard on Kramer’s electric telehandler, enabling a full charge of the larger, 28 kWh battery in about five hours. Max payload is 1450 kg.
Electrek’s Take
It’s always good to see more manufacturers pushing out electric equipment options. It’s still the “wild west” out there, even more so than in automotive, and Kramer’s offerings seem to be a step behind in some ways (no DCFC capability) and ahead in others (96V where others are 48V), so it’s hard to know where they stand.
The robotics experts at ETH Zurich have developed an autonomous excavator that uses advanced AI to help it complete high-skill tasks without a human operator.
Dry stone wall construction typically involves huge amounts of operator labor. Doing it right requires not just hours of labor, but hours of skilled, experienced labor. At least, it used to. If the crew at ETH is successful, building stone retaining walls will soon become a “set it and forget it” task for robots to complete. Robots like their HEAP excavator.
HEAP (Hydraulic Excavator for an Autonomous Purpose) is a customized Menzi Muck M545 developed for autonomous operation that uses electrically-driven hydraulics to operate an advanced boom arm equipped with draw wire encoders, LiDAR, Leica iCON site-mapping, and a Rototilt “wrist” on the end that makes it look more like a high-precision robotic arm than a traditional heavy equipment asset.
ETH HEAP tech stack
Which makes sense. After all: the ETH guys are roboticists, not skilled heavy equipment operators. So, how does their robot do against skilled operators?
“We are currently outperformed by human excavator operators in placement speed,” ETH researchers wrote in Science Robotics. “Such operators, however, typically require string and paint references with which to register their construction and often a second or third person outside the machine to provide guidance and to insert small supporting stones, gravel, and soil by hand and shovel. In contrast, our process can build complex nonplanar global surface geometries without physical reference markers, does not require a skilled driver or small supporting stones, and provides a full digital twin of the built structure for better accountability and future reuse.”
Translation: the robot is slower, but it gets the job done.
You can watch the ETH HEAP put all its onboard tech to work building a 215 foot long, 20 foot high retaining wall all on its own in the video, below.
Autonomous excavator constructs dry stone wall
The completed project can be seen at Circularity Park in Oberglatt, Switzerland, and illustrates the potential for autonomous equipment to build with irregularly-shaped materials. And with skilled operators in short supply everywhere, the potential to free up operators so they can go where they’re really needed.
That said, the electrically driven hydraulics and high-precision Rototilt wrist on the end of the boom arm’s “claw” alone make this futuristic excavator worth some attention. As more and more manufacturers switch to full electric or even “just” electric drive, research into better solutions for existing hydraulic equipment and expertise could lead to big market wins.
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