Firstly, thank you to everyone who contributed to our survey regarding robotic mowers last week - we had a fantastic response and canvassed a great selection of your thoughts on the subject.

It certainly appears to be a topic which people have strong opinions on, with many of you taking the time to let us know one way or another how you feel about the current state of the market.

We'll be publishing the results and a cross section of your views in the next issue of Service Dealer magazine, but I must say the spread of opinions is quite striking.

As a preview, we received comments ranging from the enthusiastic . .

• "Robotic mowers are a fantastic opportunity for the dealer network to supply a product that can be sold with an installation and thus bring some profitability back. I view a robot mower installation as similar to supplying a fitted kitchen in that each installation is bespoke and requires a specialist to plan and carry out the work properly. For that we can charge a premium."

. . . to the sceptical:

• "I feel it’s generally over-hyped in a similar way to battery products which are also being pushed hard by manufacturers currently. They suffer similar problems – i.e expensive battery replacements every few years and high levels of complexity to repair. We get some interest in them but mostly from the elderly who can prove challenging with their lack of tech savvy and over expectations of the product."

There's no doubt though, the subject has the industry talking this year - and this appears to be a worldwide trend. 

The American trade title, OPE magazine, has recently published a very interesting article entitled The Rise Of Robotic Mowers. It's well worth a read, if only to see just how similar the current thinking is over there. They quote Elisha Lipscomb, senior marketing strategist, lawn and garden, at Honda, manufacturer of Miimo robotic mowers, who says, "Automation in mowing is becoming the newest disruptor in the green industry . . . This can be the next life-changing technology."

The article goes on to discuss how for the technology to really take off though, the specialist dealer network needs to be fully on-board in the promotion of these products to their customers.

Also in the States, the OPEI, their equivalent of our AEA, has even Tweeted out links to my recent editorial on robotics and on our story of UK dealers attending Cub Cadet's robotic training days, for their members to consider.

It seems fair to say there is a real buzz around the automated products this year. Whether this translates into an increase in sales, that remains to be seen.

What we shouldn't lose sight of course, is that these machines are not the only game in town. Interestingly I attended a STIHL event this week, introducing new professional products to the specialist trade press, and whilst yes, there were a couple of iMows on display and discussion of battery products both current and coming soon, the company were very keen to stress the new developments in their petrol ranges.

Efforts are being made by the manufacturer to make their petrol machines ever more efficient as well as cleaner, in order to comply with the increasingly strict emissions regulations. They emphasised just how much research and development is being undertaken to make sure that 2-stroke engines are kept very much as an integral part of their overall portfolio. 

Tellingly, the representatives of magazines, blogs and forums which are aimed at professional end users, were clearly very keen to get their hands on these new petrol machines which were available to test. They seemed excited to report back to their readers just how these new developments might be able to make their working life easier.

So I suppose the message is, there is a place, and indeed a customer, for all these technologies in our industry.

To close off oneself entirely from one type of product or another, might be a decision a business could live to regret?