Robot mowers have been deployed to tend some of the capital’s oldest lawns at the Tower of London.
Autonomous GPS-controlled bots have been brought in to work around the castle’s moat, and the lawn of the White Tower.
Two mowers run in the moat each morning at walking pace, but around the White Tower a four-wheel-drive model does a night shift to avoid disturbing the resident ravens.
They work in a geo-fencing wired area, a similar principle to domestic vacuum robots, with gardeners tracking them on an app. The battery-powered Husqvarna bots, each costing about £4,000, replace ride-on diesel mowers.
Gardeners say they are much quieter, emitting a wasp-like buzz, and help reduce emissions. But they take longer, about a week, to cut thousands of square feet of lawn in 12-hour shifts.
Grass is kept short so the robots shave a little off on each pass, which is left as a natural fertiliser. Using the gadgets frees up gardeners for other tasks.
Tower officials have launched a competition to name the newest robomower, with Twitter users suggesting “Moaty McMowface”.
David Williams, designated head gardener for Historic Royal Palaces contractor Ground Control, said: “The ravens were curious when the robots were first installed. We work closely with the raven master.”
