M220-AV uilds on the efficiencies of the 22-foot-wide M220 manned mower enabling Turf Farms to achieve optimal productivity
FireFly Automatix, Inc. has announced initial customer implementation of the M220-AV, the company’s first fully autonomous field mower, which has been in development since 2018. The new AV (Autonomous Vehicle) version of the popular 22-foot M220 for turfgrass production is premiering as a hybrid diesel-electric vehicle that takes the company’s proven features to an entirely new level of automation.
FireFly has selected a limited number of turf farms for eligibility of its first commercially available M220-AV’s. The program has officially commenced with the delivery of the first pilot production vehicle this month to Prime Sod, in Kopperl, Texas, with additional orders booked through early Summer 2023.
As a significant update to earlier models of the M220, the M220-AV features the following:
- A high-performance 125 hp turbo-charged hybrid diesel/electric engine with Bosch Rexroth drive train and premium quality bearings and hydraulic system
- Climate-controlled cab for operator comfort during the initial teach modes and pressurized to keep out dust
- State-of-the-art electrical controls and automated mow height
- Optimized front-mounted electric decks meticulously engineered to finishing quality mowing at speeds of up to 13.3 acres/hour
“The M220-AV represents a full paradigm shift for turf farm mowing,” said Steve Aposhian, FireFly’s founder and CTO. “We are creating new efficiencies to meet the turf farm industry’s highest needs, which we will ultimately expand to fulfill turf maintenance roles in every place they are needed. The M220-AV has been designed and purpose-built from the ground up to be the most efficient mowing machine on the market. Further, the rigors of providing autonomous solutions at the commercial farm level lend themselves long term to the development of markets such as golf, sports turf and municipal (parks and schools), orchard, and roadside safety mowing” said Steve Aposhian, FireFly’s founder and CTO.
