COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio Department of Transportation is exploring the use of robotic lawn mowers to maintain highway slopes that are too steep for traditional equipment and human operators. The agency recently conducted a demonstration to evaluate the technology's effectiveness in improving safety and efficiency.

Speaking on the most recent edition of ODOT's "The Loop," Shawn Rostorfer, District 6 Highway Management Administrator, said the diverse topography of Ohio’s highways, which includes significant hills and slopes, makes it challenging for conventional tractor mowers to access certain areas.

"Our right of way that we have out there is very diverse," Rostorfer said. "Some of it's at steeper slopes that our normal tractor mower operator out there can't get to."

The goal of th

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