National Park Service tests autonomous AI-operated lawn mowers on the National Mall, other sites

The National Park Service is testing out the use of autonomous lawn mowers run by artificial intelligence at six national parks nationwide.

Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum posted a video on social media showing one of the riderless mowers on the National Mall.

“Leading the world in AI means embracing new ideas and boldly applying them in places such as our cherished National Parks and public lands,” Mr. Burgum wrote.

The project was made possible by a grant from the National Parks Foundation.

The National Park Service plans to use six of the AI lawnmowers at six different national parks, National Park Service Technical Services Division Manager Jeff Gowen said in the video.

Mr. Gowen did not specify which parks would get the robo-mowers or when they would all be deployed. The lawnmower featured in the video appears to be from Frederick, Maryland-based Wright Manufacturing.