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Colo.-based Scythe Robotics is adopting the North American Charging Standard (NACS) charge port for its M.52 robot lawnmower. The company said this move will integrate NACS capabilities into their all-electric, fully autonomous commercial mower as early as Q4 2024.

NACS, also known as the “Tesla Charger” or SAE J3400, is becoming the standard in electric vehicle (EV) charging, according to Scythe. Leading automotive companies, including Ford, General Motors and BMW, have committed to transitioning to NACS by 2025. Scythe said this move toward standardized charging infrastructure is crucial in facilitating mass EV adoption, streamlining user experiences with reliable and simple charging solutions.

By eliminating proprietary connectors and technologies, Scythe said this transition ensures lower charging costs, greater ease of use, and expanded access to charging facilities for landscape companies mowing with M.52.

“We are committed to providing our landscape customers with meaningful solutions that sit at the forefront of technological innovation,” said Davis Foster, co-founder and chief engineer of Scythe. “With the U.S. moving towards the adoption of NACS across the board, it’s clear that this standardized charging solution will be the optimal and most convenient method for charging any EV or machine – including M.52 – for the foreseeable future. We are excited to extend these benefits to our customers.

The next generation of M.52, slated for production in late 2024, will integrate NACS components as they are made available for non-Tesla manufacturers. Existing generations of M.52 can be compatible with the new standards through a common NACS-to-J1772 connector. Looking forward, NACS holds the potential for future improvements and features like DC fast charging and automated billing with existing charger networks.

“By incorporating NACS into the next generation of our machine, M.52 will potentially be the first non-Tesla vehicle to implement this new standard,” explained Roger Dodrill, staff systems engineer at Scythe. “As pioneers in autonomous and electric outdoor power equipment, adopting this standardized solution is a critical step in our mission to electrify the industry. By providing the gold standard in charging capabilities, we aim to eliminate barriers to the adoption of electric equipment and enhance the overall user experience for our valued customers.”

Scythe Robotics at Robotics Summit & Expo

Scythe will be speaking at the Robotics Summit & Expo, the world’s leading event for commercial robotics developers, that takes place May 1-2 in Boston. Nathaniel Czarnecki, Scythe’s lead test engineer, will be talking about how the company is “Building a Scalable Testing Program to Drive Robot Reliability.”

Czarnecki will share the company’s philosophy behind and framework for building highly effective robotics testing programs that can grow in scope and impact without becoming burdensome to the business. This involves prioritizing which facets of the product need the most in-depth testing, identifying meaningful metrics to measure them by, and using the findings to rapidly iterate on and improve the product – all with typically limited resources and an eye toward seriously expanded testing operations.

Scythe’s testing program has driven step-change product and performance improvements with each iteration of M.52, as well as significant updates between them. Through stories from the test fields at Scythe (along with plenty of destructive testing videos), Nathaniel will also share best practices for testing hardware and software in tandem, creating progressive testing programs, and building the rapport needed to collaborate with teams across an organization, offering insight relevant to any robotics company.

Produced by The Robot Report and parent company WTWH Media, the Robotics Summit & Expo focuses on the design, development, and scaling of commercial robots. There will be 60-plus speakers in 40-plus sessions sharing their commercial robotics development expertise. There will also be more than 130 exhibitors showing enabling technologies on the expo show floor.

Keynotes will feature the following industry luminaries:

• Jonathan Hurst, co-founder and chief robot officer at Agility Robotics
• Tye Brady, chief technologist at Amazon Robotics
• Ujjwal Kumar, group president at Teradyne Robotics
• Morgan Pope, research scientist, and Moritz Baecher, associate lab director for robotics, at Disney Research
• Medtronic will demonstrate its remote robotic-assisted surgical system.

The Robotics Summit will also include conference tracks on warehouse automation and AI in addition to development, enabling technologies, and healthcare. An Engineering Theater on the show floor will feature additional presentations on innovative systems and use cases.

On Wednesday, May 1, the Robotics Summit & Expo will host the inaugural RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards Gala to celebrate this year’s winners of the prestigious recognition. Tickets will be available for this gala.

Registration is now open for the 2024 Robotics Summit & Expo. An Academic Outreach Program offers discounts for attendees coming from colleges, universities, and research institutions.