Brush Removal in a Private Estate for Defensible Space Compliance

Problem

A private estate owner in Santa Cruz faced a tough situation. The property sat on top of a mountain—too steep and remote for traditional machines to reach. Labor costs were high, crews were hard to find, and fire season was approaching. With defensible space compliance deadlines looming, fines were a real threat. DIY was not an option either—a previous attempt with rented equipment nearly ended in disaster when a large machine toppled on the slope

Solution

Terrain exceeded 27° slope — beyond safe limits for crews or standard equipment. Two MoWacK bots were deployed: one for precision clearing near structures, one for broad vegetation removal across the open area. Refueling was handled via satellite-powered teleoperation, with operators guiding the bots off and back onto the slope remotely — no personnel on the terrain. Operation completed in 72 hours, zero safety incidents, zero on-slope human presence.

Results

Here is a quick comparison of our solution vs existing solutions

Feature Name	Mowack Lite	Mowack Pro	Traditional Mowers
Power	5 hp	15 hp	~
Active Operational Hours	24 X 7 Operational Hours	24 X 7 Operational Hours	6-8 Hours X 5 Days a week
Maintenance	Requires minimal maintenance with automatic sofware updates.	Requires minimal maintenance with automatic sofware updates.	Requires high maintenance
Slope Capability	Upto 32 Deg	Upto 42 Deg	Slope 21 to 27 Deg
No of Labourer/Operartor required	1	1	2-5
Personnel Safety	High - Personnel is not directly involved	High - Personnel is not directly involved	Low - Personnel is directly involved

Our field deployment proved it: two autonomous robots delivered the same results as a traditional mowing crew at just 20% of the cost.