Innovative MowHawk enables nature-inclusive roadside management with smart technology

The MowHawk is a computer vision and tracking application for verge mowers. With a camera system mounted on the cutting bar of a machine, the driver can immediately understand the clipping quality. Besides, the MowHawk is also a data collection system that shows litter, invasive exotics and weight. It can also extend this to determine insect population and vegetation. Then the collected data is analysed and archived in a data warehouse. The data serves as a source of information for monitoring ecological results and quality, policy development and decision-making.

The mowing policy enters the roadside owner's information system via a link. These are provinces, municipalities and water boards. They record the mowing patterns on the map by location that fit within the environmental policy in the provincial verges. The tractor driver can see the directions for mowing in actual time on a screen in the cab.

The quality of the clipping is also immediately accessible to the driver and the managing party. They can track the progress in an online dashboard. The amount of litter, weight, and presence of invasive exotics determine the quality of the clipping. Quality can determine the next step for the most circular processing of the clipping.

By detecting dirt, invasive exotics, and the mass's weight, fewer operations are necessary to compost the biomass, which can have a significant impact on the processing price. The verge compost is often suitable for other higher-quality processing methods because of the elimination of litter and invasive exotics. Think of using fermentation, soil improver, or sheet material.

By using roadside management in this way smartly, they better understand biodiversity, enabling proactive response to changes in the verges. For example, controlling invasive exotics can prevent future costs in case of damage. But it can also increase biodiversity. Using real-time information makes environmentally friendly mowing possible, which spares flower seeds and insect eggs.

On behalf of the Province of Overijssel, the development of the MowHawk took place. Originally, the MowHawk is an initiative of Datacadabra in collaboration with Jelle Bijlsma. Recently, the demonstration of the MowHawk happened and received great enthusiasm. The prototype is now behind the scenes, and the team is working on further developments of the MowHawk.