Professional grass-cutting equipment (used by large establishments such as universities, sports stadiums or local authorities and suchlike) usually take the form of much larger, dedicated, ride-on platforms or attachments that can be mounted on, or behind, a standard tractor unit (a “gang-mower”). Either type may use rotating-blade or cylindrical-blade type cutters, although good-quality mown surfaces demand the latter.

A pull mower is essentially the same as a manually pushed mower but the propulsion unit pulls the mowing unit instead of pushing it. Thus it is the normal system when a tractor or animal-drawn mower is used.

Robotic lawn mowers represented the second largest category of household autonomous robots used by the end of 2005. A typical robotic lawn mower requires the user to set up a border wire around the lawn that defines the area to be mowed. The robot uses this wire to trim and in some cases to locate a recharging dock. Robotic mowers are capable of maintaining up to 5 acres of grass. Electricity usage varies from about 100 watts (comparable to a light bulb) for 1/2 acre to 500 watts (comparable to a refrigerator) to maintain 5 acres.

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Hover mowers are powered rotary push mowers that use a turbine above the spinning blades to drive air downwards, thereby creating an air cushion that lifts the mower off the ground like a hovercraft. The operator can then easily move the mower as it floats over the grass. Hover mowers are necessarily light in order to achieve the air cushion and typically have plastic bodies with an electric motor, although small petrol-engined versions are also available. A different style of movement is often employed with hover mowers whereby operators swing the mower in an arc around themselves because there are no wheels touching the ground to impede movement in sideways directions.

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A popular alternative for larger lawns is the riding (or ride-on) mower. The operator is provided with a seat and controls on the mower and literally ‘rides’ on the machine. Most use the horizontal rotating blade system, though usually with multiple blades.

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