Just like many other Australians, Aaron Howard doesn’t like to waste time mowing his lawn. But unlike most of us, he actually researched and came up with something that will do the mowing for him – Mobot, the robot that mows.
Howard is a man of many pursuits. After a 6-year stint in the Communications and Information Systems Division in the Navy, he now works for a leading global resources company and runs a beauty salon with a friend in his spare time.
He has always been passionate about finding ways to make things easier. It was after yet another wrestle with a lawn mower that he started wondering how to make mowing effortless. Having a small yard meant that a large petrol powered mower was unnecessary, which is when the idea of a robot that could do the mowing occurred to him.
The path to Mobot
Howard is quick to acknowledge that the idea of such a robot is not new. But the work involved – researching a Chinese company that manufactures a similar product, tweaking the software for Australian conditions, testing it on friends and families – was all his effort.
Once the design was finalised, Howard negotiated with the company and won sole rights to produce and sell the Mobot Australia model. To date, he has succeeded in selling just under a hundred units at $999 apiece. The sales were mostly to residential customers in Perth and Sydney, though a couple of landscape companies have also expressed interest in Mobot.
Though there has not been a formal product launch, Howard has, in the last month, set up a website with videos where people can order the product and have it delivered to their homes.
Featuring ‘Mobot’
Ideal for small backyards, the setup of Mobot is quite simple. A perimeter cable is run around the yard, offsetting trees and garden patches if needed, with sensors that Mobot uses to self-regulate. With inbuilt sensors that make it stop and change direction when detecting obstacles, Mobot is perfectly safe to use around pets or small children.
The Mobot can handle areas of up to 2600m² which may be programmed as three different zones. Running on batteries that last for 2-3 hours, its large motor-driven rear wheels allow it to be used on slopes with an incline of up to 30°.
Bumps on the Mobot track
The road from the idea to the execution has not been smooth for Howard. The biggest difficulty was communicating with an overseas manufacturer and the challenges in making Mobot affordable while not compromising on quality.
It is never easy to follow your entrepreneurial dreams while having not one, but two jobs and a growing family, but Howard has managed to do just that. That he did it on his own, with no borrowed money, makes it even more admirable.
Howard has bigger dreams for Mobot: a proper product launch where people can see the product, ask questions and hopefully have it displayed in stores. He is also researching a business model where distribution centres or outlets are set up so that people could test out the product and get it installed professionally.
Wherever his efforts take him, Aaron Howard has that entrepreneurial spirit – focussed, determined and willing to work for it. We wish him the best in all his endeavours.
Learn more about Mobot.
