Circular Economy For Robotic Lawn Mower Manufacturers

You are the sustainability manager for a manufacturer of robotic lawn mowers for home and small business users. At present, your material and energy flows are entirely linear (no reuse or recycling). Your CEO has seen a presentation on ‘The Circular Economy’ and has asked you to investigate the extent to which this concept could be applied to the company and its products. You are primarily responsible for the sustainability of the manufacturing activities of the company, but your role also involves you in the planning of future products and the business model of the organisation, since all these also affect industrial sustainability.

1. Describe the different components used in your product and comment on the degree to which their material flows can be made circular. The main types of component are:
   • Structural parts (chassis, body, housings, etc.)
   • Electrical parts (motors, switches, wires, circuit boards) and
   • Functional parts (blades, fans, etc.)
   
   
2. Describe a future sustainable industrial system in terms of the stages in the lifecycle of a typical product after the company’s material and energy flows have been made as ‘circular’ as possible.
   
   
3. For each of the types of component above, describe the short term and longer term steps that the company should take to get to the sustainable system you described above. Where possible, illustrate your arguments from case studies in the literature and indicate briefly any relevant policy implications.

Overview of Circular Economy

Circular economy entails a different approach from the past linear economy that was wasteful of resources. Circular economy ensures that resources are kept for a relatively longer period of time. This enables a commodity to be fully utilized even after it is service life has been depleted. The circular economy approach has been adopted recently as a viable platform that enables economical gain. The idea of circular economy is to ensure that resources have to be restored and be regenerated by utilizing a modern design that ensures that the components, materials and products are able to offer the best utility during their serviceable time (MacDonough 2010, p. 3).

The chassis of a robotic lawn mower enables the lawn mower to move to different areas while being automatically controlled. It should be made of tubular steel that is of heavy gauge. The chassis is then welded into a structure that can enable the mower to fit in it. The chassis is then connected with wheels that will facilitate the movement of the mower from one point to another. The chassis is then connected with casters that enable the mower to move easily. The caster is designed to ensure that it tries to move the mower even to hilly areas that are difficult for the robotic lawn mower to move alone (Scalter 2013, p. 46). The body of a robotic lawn mower is designed that it is able to handle the environmental factors that it is exposed to without getting damaged. The body ensures that the internal heat that is generated during mowing does not affect the functionality of the robotic lawn mower. The body of a robotic lawn mower is advantageous as it is designed to enable easy movement of the machine. The body is also designed to be relatively large so that it covers a considerably large area when it is cutting the grass. The body is also complexly shaped to ensure that the various components are housed uniformly as they are. It is then sprayed with high quality surface finish that is fade free and is not affected by external environmental factors (Meriam 2012, p. 67).  

The housing of a robotic lawn mower is fitted with sensors that ensure that the lawn mower does not collude with other objects while mowing. It is properly designed to ensure that the internal components are well protected from external factors. The sensors fitted to the housing are able to detect the wires that are used to demarcate the area that it is put to work. The wire that functions in demarcating the area of service is usually placed on the perimeter of the area. The housing is made of materials that are biodegradable (Jarmo 2012, p. 92). They are designed to ensure high performance. The housing is thus reliable through the various diverse design that it is molded to, it is also durable and thus ensures that it is able to meet the clients’ demands and the value of money. The motors used in the manufacturing of robotic lawn mowers are of high quality. They are able to convert electrical energy that is provided by the sun into mechanical energy. The motor also functions in running of the fan to induce internal cooling of the machine. The motor also functions in controlling the electrical energy by acting as a short circuit. This factor enables it to disconnect during surges. The motor also disconnects the power of the lawn mower to run in cases where the power goes below the required level. This ensures that it is able to run within the predefined current. The motor also is designed to ensure that it discontinues the running of the lawn mower if it gets blocked. The Robotic lawn mower stops to run when materials get into the inside of the machine. This is an advantageous component as it is able to prevent further damages that might be caused by the internal intrusion (Cegielski 2015,p. 54).

Designing The Chassis of Robotic Lawn Mowers

Switches have been installed so that the user is able to control the robotic lawn mower with a lot of ease. The switches function to power on and off the machine. This is a rather modern aspect that replaced the traditional pulling that made the machine to be faulty during the regular service time. The switches have also been automated so that they are able to disconnect when the battery gets fully charged. This saves the battery from being damaged. The above description is achieved through the utilization of resistors in the design. Wires used in the robotic lawn mower are chose with utter conscience to ensure that they are able to be durable (Siciliano 2008, p. 1271). The wiring is minimized in a thought that was to reduce risks of electrical damage. The wires used in the robotic lawn mower connect the fan from the power accumulator, connect the board to the switches and they connect the board to the led display that functions to describe the various aspects being monitored. The wires also connect the chassis to the reels. The connection brings about formation of an electric circuit by the capacitor.

Circuit boards utilize the latest technology of Arduino. The circuit board has achieved the user friendly aspect that is desired by the uses. The board has been able to maximize the energy saving power as it does not utilize any power when on standby mode. The integrated circuit that is installed in the robotic lawn mower is able to induce a separation that is galvanic in the output of mechanical energy. This accessories are manufactured by our suppliers and we simply assemble the other components for them to function as to our standards. The criteria used to determine the quality of the accessories sourced out of the Robotic lawn mower manufacturers is guided by the latest technological advancements (Warren 2011, p. 531).

Blades utilized in the robotic lawn mower have an advantage of bending. This aspect of bending when they strike anything harder than the grass enables them to avoid getting damaged and throwing things during the mowing. Flexibility has been achieved using the recent technological advancements through it is design. Though people may think that it is weak, it has been able to achieve it is intended purpose without damaging property and damaging itself. The maintenance of the blades is quite easy. A wipe using the maintenance oil is enough. Sharpening the blades can also be done without necessarily un-assembling them. The fans are able to achieve the cooling aspect that is anticipated by the robotic lawn mower through provision of enough mechanical energy. Energy converted by the motor is sufficient to run the fan. The plastics used to make the fans are durable and thus cannot be easily damaged (Su 2012, p. 43). Ventilation provisions done on the body of the robotic lawn mower function by ensuring that there is free flow of air into and out of the mower. These ventilations help in cooling the mower when it is running and thus enabling it to function properly by avoiding overheating.

Components of Robotic Lawn Mowers Housing

The future of robotic lawn mower company is bright. This is due to the technological advancements that enable better service delivery to the clients. Utilization of modern power sources that are eco-friendly is the main factor being researched on. The latest innovation on utilization of solar radiations to power the robotic lawn mower has been a milestone achievement. Utilization of solar energy has been able to minimize the operational cost. Cost reduction has been on gasoline cost, the overall maintenance cost and oil that was used to run the engine (Teysott 2009, p. 432). This version of the robot is able to perform like the previous models but have a better performance. The solar powered robots are able to function properly with minimal sound that was distracted persons working nearby. The only drawback that the solar powered robotic lawn mower faces is the storage capacity of energy. The batteries used to store the energy have to be better designed so that they are able to store a considerably large amount of energy.

 Improvement on the circular design is an objective that we working to improve so that the robotic lawn mowers future can be sustainable. The design incorporates selection of better materials that are used during the assembling of the robotic lawn mowers, selecting a competitive product design that is more appealing to the clients, ensuring that the components used are standardized as per the minimum requirements, effective flow of the components used in assembling of the robots so that they can easily be disassembled for repair purposes and recycling facility should be started so that the materials that are returned can be recycled and new components made (Fehlman 2009, p. 93). Innovative models in the business will help to ensure that value propositions are achieved. This can be done by changing the linear method of paying due to ownership and start paying by the performance that are achieved by certain models. Introduction of qualification factors that ensure that persons employed are more competent. Systems that are designed for the future need to ensure that to operate the business, the system has to be cost effective, ensuring better qualities of products that are utilized in the assembling of the robotic lawn mowers and having a system that is able to reverse the process. This helps to utilize the locally available raw materials as well as being able to recycle the damaged parts of the robot (peterka 2009, p. 116).

Future sustainability is also geared towards achieving the visions of an environment free of carbon emissions. This factor is due to the rapid climatic changes that are being experienced. Product design is on the rise to ensure that those that prefer the petrol driven mowers are able to ensure that the mowers are emission efficient. The company aims at reducing the waste that is generated so as to achieve sustainability. Reduction of the cost incurred during the operation leads to reduction in resource utilization. In the long run, carbon footprint will be reduced significantly (Lopez 2014, p. 125).

Digitization of the mowers to achieve sustainability is also an objective being researched on. Digitized robotic mowers will be able to mow after being programmed with minimal supervision. Customer safety is also a concern being worked on. In the future, there will be very minimal accidents caused by the mowers. This has been achieved by the latest technological advancements that are preventing the mover from throwing objects that they meet during the mowing. Increased customer interaction has also been considered to help improve the robotic lawn mower. Customer feedback is vital in ensuring that the clients are satisfied with the product. Introduction of an online platform where clients are able to air their concerns will help in making decisions of the future (Spivey 2015, p. 205).

Inspection of the process during the manufacturing of the robotic lawn mowers will help in preventing installation of components that are likely to malfunction. This process also helps in detecting errors in the very initial stage and this will help in developing mitigation strategies as soon as the error is detected. This includes inspection of the seams, fits, tolerances and the finishing. In the finishing, testing of the paint that is being used is a vital process that will help to determine if the paint is effective in preventing corrosion. The process can be achieved by testing the product if it will be corroded when exposed to a salty environment. This adjustments enable to determine the quality of the metallic parts so as to ensure that the final finish that is done is able to be durable (Holland 2004, p. 273). The inspection also incorporates testing of the robotic lawn mowers so as to ascertain the performance is reliable. The inspection also ensures that the safety of the user is guaranteed. The safety as defined by the regulations of the commission on consumer product safety is to stop the blades from running once the controller has pressed the stop button.

Benefits of Bending Blades and Durable Fans

Ensuring customer satisfaction through the customer feedback portal is a sustainable objective that can be achieved easily. This factor will enable to get the performance results of the robotic lawn mowers that have been purchased. Measuring of environmental impact that is caused by the robotic lawn mowers is a short tern objective that helps to inform the consumers on the product proliferation. This will help them to make informed decisions (Binner 2012, p. 30). The environmental impact will help in developing a better design that is able to achieve the policies that impact the consumers of the lawn mowers. Determining a source that is sustainable for the supply of the raw materials. This factor can be achieved by assessing the impact of introduction of a reuse and recycling department in the manufacture of robotic lawn mower. Developing of a proper and achievable framework is also essential in achieving the sustainability of the system. The framework can be developed by conducting a proper research on the importance of developing a sustainable system in the manufacturing of the robot lawn mowers. Analyzing and development of a conception tool that will determine the workability of the system. This can be achieved by determining the objectives and assessing the practicality and the achievability in comparison to the available capital and resources. Testing of the framework can be done by checking the workability in the factory setting. Refining is done after testing aims at determining the practicality using the available information from the consumers (Azad 2012, p, 239). This rationale aims at making proper decisions whether to adopt the system or to disregard it. Convincing of the stakeholders to adopt the new framework should be done after the process has been refined. This is to woo the stakeholders so that they can support the project. The project then can be built ensuring that the original objectives are adhered to. This helps to avoid tweaking of the systems designed purpose. Utilization of the system to achieve the objectives of the company is the final process in the framework (Siciliano 2011, p. 95).

Development of a reuse and a recycling plant to achieve the circular economy objectives. The plant will be designed in a way that will enable flow of materials from one end and the final product at the other end. The plant will include sorting of the materials brought in for recycling. Designing robotic lawn mowers that are environmental friendly (Malone 2012, p. 74). The design will be able to curb the effect that is brought about by excessive carbon emission to the environment. This factor will be able to address the impact on climatic change in the long run. Developing of batteries that are able to store solar energy for a considerable long period of time will be able to address the challenges being faced currently (Oliehoek 2016, p. 19). The current batteries are not able to accumulate charge for a long period of time and thus not meeting the clients’ demands. Recycling and reusing enables to reduce the amount of waste being dumped in landfills, enables resources to be conserved, conserves energy, preserves the climatic changes that is brought by carbon emission and creates employment for the persons who will be working in the plant. Reusing and recycling helps in reducing the overall operation cost incurred in the manufacturing process of the robotic lawn mowers (Domaine 2006, p. 50).

Future of Robotic Lawn Mower Manufacturing

Development of safety measures as defined by the commission on consumer product safety is to stop the blades from running once the controller has pressed the stop button. This factor will prevent hazards from happening. Designing of blades that are able to bend when they hit hard objects rather than the grass will be a milestone (Mercer 2014, p. 179). The flexible blades will not only prevent throwing of stones and other objects during mowing but will also reduce the cost that will be incurred in maintenance. Keeping in touch with the clients’ will enable product monitoring. This will help in determining the areas that need to be improved in case of a fall.

 Creation of a hazard analysis critical control checks in the system during the manufacturing and assembling of the robotic lawn mowers will help in determining the potential hazards that are encountered during the manufacturing. This can be achieved through the regular checks to ascertain the quality and safety of the robots. The hazard analysis system will be able to detect hazards at an early stage during the manufacturing process. Early detection of hazards enables the manufacturers to develop mitigation measures to curb the short coming. Failure of determining the problem can be a catastrophic challenge that may make the whole production a fall. Reduction of the noise that is produced by petrol lawn mowers will be an achievement too. This will help in avoiding the disturbance that is caused by the petrol propelled lawn mower (Fretland 2009, p. 384).

Reference list

Azad, A. (2012). Adaptive Mobile Robotics: Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Climbing and Walking Robots and the Support Technologies for Mobile Machines, Baltimore, USA, 23-26 July, 2012. 1st ed. World Scientific.

Binner, H. (2012). Field and service robotics. 1st ed. [Place of publication not identified]: Springer.

Cegielski, C. and Prince, B. (2015). Introduction to Information Systems, 6th Edition. 1st ed. New York: Wiley.

Domaine, H. (2006). Robotics. 1st ed. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications Co.

Fehlman, W. and Hinders, M. (2009). Mobile robot navigation with intelligent infrared image interpretation. 1st ed. Dordrecht: Springer.

Fretland VanVoorst, J. (2009). Rise of the thinking machines. 1st ed. Mankato, MN: Compass Point Books.

Holland, J. (2004). Designing mobile autonomous robots. 1st ed. Amsterdam: Elsevier.

Jarmo Heinonen, Mika Raassina and Nick Moss (2012). Processes Management Guaranteeing Life-Cycle Quality of the Maintenance Service Agreement - A Study Regarding Outsourced Maintenance Services. 1st ed. INTECH Open Access Publisher.

López Peláez, A. (2014). The robotics divide. 1st ed. London: Springer.

Malone, R. (2012). Recycled robots. 1st ed. New York: Workman Pub.

McDonough, W. and Braungart, M. (2010). Cradle to cradle. 1st ed. New York: Oxford University Press, p.3.

Mercer, B. and Brozyna, A. (2014). The robot book. 1st ed. Chicago, Illinois: Chicago Review Press.

Meriam, J. and Kraige, L. (2012). Engineering mechanics. 1st ed. New York: Wiley.

Oliehoek, F. and Amato, C. (2016). A Concise Introduction to Decentralized POMDPs. 1st ed. Baltimore: Workman Pub.

Peterka, D. (2009). The senior sleuth's guide to technology for seniors. 1st ed. Morrison, CO: Conifer Books.

Sclater, N. (2013). Mechanisms and mechanical devices sourcebook. 1st ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Siciliano, B. and Dario, P. (2011). Experimental Robotics VIII. 1st ed.

Siciliano, B. and Khatib, O. (2008). Springer handbook of robotics. 1st ed. Berlin: Springer.

Spivey, D. (2015). Home automation for dummies. 1st ed. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Su, C., Rakheja, S. and Liu, H. (2012). Intelligent robotics and applications. 1st ed. Berlin: Springer.

Teyssot, G. (1999). The American lawn. 1st ed. New York: Princeton Architectural Press.

Warren, J., Adams, J. and Molle, H. (2011). Arduino robotics. 1st ed. New York: APress.