Lawnbots: Ineffective Robots or Campus Inspiration?

Last updated on Mar 8, 2021

By Zach Taber, Staff Writer

Students walking by the Great Lawn this semester have probably noticed the orange “lawnbots” that have made an appearance at Post this year. New to campus, the small robots have been diligently mowing the Great Lawn since student’s returned to classes in September, but what some students might not realize is that these robots are more than meets the eye. 

“I know that we do not have the most basic sort of lawnbot, Post paid for a hard, orange exterior on these bots,” Steele Whitney, a junior acting major said. Students have had mixed opinions on this addition to campus 

“They simply go all the time,” said Whitney, “it really prohibits one from having kickball games or playing frisbee on the Great Lawn when the pandemic is over with.” The lawnbots operate around the clock, having even been seen diligently cutting the grass late at night. But even lawnbots have their limits, a discovery sophomore English major Clare Coursey made during her thorough examination of the bots and their habits.

“It saddens me when I see a lawn bot fail at returning to their charging station before they die,” Coursey said, “one dayI decided to rescue one of the stragglers by carrying it to it’s charging station after it lost the energy to do so itself. It was quite the endeavor.” 

With them being constantly underfoot, and at times unable to return to their own charging stations, the odds seem stacked against the mowers in having any success at being quality lawn care machines. Still, even with their shortcomings, students have still managed to see the good in the robots and their lawn care methods. 

“The Great Lawn has never looked better,” said Whitney, who added that “they are also quieter during class periods which is a huge plus.” Coursey echoed Whitney’s sentiments “they are doing a marvelous job at maintaining the greens. They are also quieter than human-operated mowers which is a huge plus.” Whether or not the lawnbots were the most cost-effective choice for maintaining the Great Lawn is still a subject of debate, but for students that have developed an affinity for the bots, their presence transcends the effectiveness of their lawn mowing. 

“I love just watching them go,” said Whitney, “I look at them, and I’m like… ‘you go little buddy.’ I find them to be quite inspirational.” In the times of uncertainty the world is experiencing, perhaps three little lawnbots were just the inspiration students needed. As Coursey put it: “Will the covid numbers go up? Will we switch to remote learning for the rest of the semester? No one really knows. But what we do know is that there are three diligent electrically powered workers trying their best to keep the great lawn looking great.”