Autonomous Mowers With Hazard Avoidance

A method of operating an autonomous mower, comprising:

• providing the mower with a drive system, a memory unit, a wireless transceiver, and a controller coupled to the drive system, the memory unit, and the transceiver;
• storing a first mow path map in the memory unit;
• maneuvering the mower autonomously with the controller along a first mow path in accordance with the first mow path map;
• using the controller during the maneuvering to monitor for a second mower by monitoring for a second data packet received from the transceiver;
• and
• upon receipt of the second data packet, using the controller to analyze the second data packet, the second data packet including a second mow path map that the second mower is traveling along.

A method of operating an autonomous mower, comprising:

• providing the mower with a drive system, a memory unit, a wireless transceiver, and a controller that couples to the drive system, the memory unit, and the transceiver;
• storing a first mow path map in the memory unit;
• maneuvering the mower autonomously with the controller along a first mow path in accordance with the first mow path map;
• and
• during the maneuvering:
• using the controller to generate a first mow path timetable from the first mow path map;
• transmitting from the transceiver a first data packet that includes a substantial portion of the first mow path map timetable;
• and
• using the controller to monitor for a second mower by monitoring for a second data packet received from the transceiver.

An autonomous mower, comprising:

• mower blades, and a power takeoff (PTO) unit coupled to the mower blades;
• a drive system, a memory unit, and a wireless transceiver, the memory unit having stored therein a first mow path map and a first digital code;
• and
• a controller coupled to the PTO unit, the drive system, the memory unit, and the transceiver, and configured to maneuver the mower along a first mow path in accordance with the first mow path map;
• wherein the controller is configured to generate a first mow path timetable from the first mow path map to indicate when the mower will be at different points along the first mow path map;
• wherein the controller is further configured to transmit from the transceiver a first data packet that includes the first mow path timetable and the first digital code;
• wherein the controller is further configured to monitor for the presence of a second mower while maneuvering the first mower along the first mow path;
• and
• wherein the controller is further configured to receive a second data packet from the second mower, and to make a determination of whether to modify the maneuvering based on a comparison of the second data packet with the first mow path timetable and the first digital code.