Editor’s Note: Alyn Brown, vice president for Level Up Development, a custom hardware and software development company, talked with Rural Lifestyle Dealer earlier in the year about zero-turn mower technology. In this excerpt of a recent post by Brown, he highlights what technology he expects to see at the upcoming GIE+Expo.
I believe the Outdoor Power Equipment industry is on the brink of a technology revolution. For years, we have been seeing OEMs and component suppliers dabble with adding technology to outdoor power equipment products, such as EFI engines, battery-powered equipment, remote control mowers and more.
Still, the adoption rate has been slow. I think the the tech explosion is about to hit us because of a few factors, including increasing environmental concerns, decreasing cost of electronic components and that customers expect technology.
So, what do I think we will see this year at GIE+Expo?
- We will see more commercial full-electric offerings, as well as more residential machines.
- There will be a hybrid machine this year.
- There will be more autonomous machines, and some of them may even work well.
- There will be the Internet of Things (IoT) connected mowers at the show. They will include technology that helps with maintenance and other functionality.
- There will be more advanced displays and touch controls on the machines. User Experience Design will show through on a few products.
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Podcast: Hear What’s Coming for Zero-Turn Mower Technology
