Ang Mo Kio to trial AI lawn-mowing robots to tackle manpower shortage and improve green space maintenance

Ang Mo Kio town will trial artificial intelligence (AI) lawn-mowing robots to tackle a manpower shortage. Each robot can mow up to 5,000 square metres of grass a day, equivalent to about three-quarters of a football pitch.

This is the first time a local town council is deploying this model, with the aim of improving the efficiency of green space maintenance while making the upkeep of public green spaces safer and more environmentally friendly.

Ang Mo Kio Town Council demonstrated the robots at its annual Tree Planting Day on Sunday (1 November). Working with contractor Ruimei Engineering and supplier Terranex, the town council plans to launch the pilot this month, initially deploying three robots at several locations.

Terranex director Shane Lee said in an interview that manpower shortages were one of the town council’s main challenges. The robots are intended to address this problem while improving the efficiency of horticultural maintenance.

“Currently the grass is mowed every two weeks, but this may not be sufficient to maintain it in best condition. With the mower, we can deploy them on a daily basis in different areas, allowing for more frequent maintenance of green spaces.”

Each robot can mow up to 5,000 square metres of grass a day. Lee said staff would still need to supervise the robots initially. Once the system and operating procedures are running smoothly, the robots will be able to operate fully autonomously.

The robots use real-time kinematic positioning technology and AI visual navigation, eliminating the need to lay boundary wires in advance, as some conventional automatic lawnmowers require. They also combine visual simultaneous localisation and mapping technology, cameras and ultrasonic sensors to continuously assess their surroundings as they move.

For safety, the robots are equipped with obstacle recognition and will slow down in advance or change course when they detect pedestrians, litter or other obstacles.

Lee noted that, compared with conventional petrol-powered lawnmowers, these battery-powered robots are quieter and produce no exhaust emissions. “The blades are also specially designed to reduce flying grass clippings and stones during mowing.”

The town council will next explore deploying the robots in other larger green spaces, including parks in Cheng San and green spaces near HDB Blocks 910 and 911 in Hougang Street 91.

This year’s Tree Planting Day also marked another milestone, with Ang Mo Kio planting its 10,000th tree or shrub since its greening efforts began.

Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong planted a sea teak tree with Yio Chu Kang Member of Parliament (MP) Yip Hon Weng. Ang Mo Kio Group Representation Constituency MPs, including Acting Minister for Manpower Jasmin Lau, Nadia Ahmad Samdin and Victor Lye, also took part, along with Ang Mo Kio Town Council chairman and Kebun Baru MP Henry Kwek and Jalan Kayu MP Ng Chee Meng.

This year also marks Ang Mo Kio Town Council’s 40th anniversary. At the event, Kwek announced that the town council had fully adopted a direct-hire staffing model from Sunday.

“This transition reflects our commitment to take better care of our staff, build a stronger team, and achieve better outcomes for our residents,” he said.

Other town councils currently using a direct-hire model include Aljunied-Hougang, Sengkang and Bishan-Toa Payoh. The remaining town councils mainly appoint managing agents to handle day-to-day operations, including overseeing other contractors and service providers.