Husqvarna's solar-powered Automower headed to the US

Husqvarna's plain old battery-powered Automowers have been available in the US for some time now, but it looks like the company's solar-powered hybrid model is now finally making the trip across the pond as well. From the looks of it, the model is the same one we caught sight of back in March, with the 22-pound mower promising to handle lawns up to half an acre in size and not emit a single emission whilst it does its business. As with the regular models, it'll also return to its base to speed up the charging process when it gets low on juice. Unfortunately, there's no word on a price or release date just yet, though we wouldn't expect it to sell for too much less (if any) than the £2,000 (or just over $3,000) it sold for in the UK. Husqvarna will apparently have more to say about that at the Green Industry and Equipment Expo that's now getting underway in Louisville, Kentucky.

[Via The Raw Feed]

[rock99rock @ Oct 23rd 2008 2:15PM]

Lets see, 3k for this, or 5k for the chinese solar-powered car. Ill take the car. Then lots of donuts in the yard will take care of the grass.

[happy_penguin @ Oct 23rd 2008 2:29PM]

You couldn't pay me $5,000 to get in that car. At least this mower isn't likely to kill you.

[rock99rock @ Oct 23rd 2008 2:34PM]

@happy_penguin

A robot lawnmower is less likely to kill you? What about all the overlord jokes?

[happy_penguin @ Oct 23rd 2008 2:36PM]

I, for one, welcome them.

[fred @ Oct 23rd 2008 4:34PM]

You can really save a ton by just getting an old-fashioned push lawnmower.

[Rogue_Genius @ Oct 23rd 2008 7:05PM]

@ Fred

"save money" "old fashioned" "push mower" are you suggesting some form of PHYSICAL LABOR!!!
Dude, your nerd credit is waning QUICKLY...

[happy_penguin @ Oct 23rd 2008 6:24PM]

*banging cane on floor*

In my day we didn't have any fancy powered lawn mowers. We got down on our hands and knees and ate the grass because we were starving and we couldn't afford goats to do the job.

AND WE LIKED IT!!!

[I LOVE THE CAPS LOCK KEY @ Oct 26th 2008 1:00AM]

@All

Robotic Mower Kills Danish Man.

http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/robot-lawnmower-kills-danish-man-begins-resistance/

[benhc911 @ Oct 23rd 2008 2:19PM]

umm, does this thing have some kind of alarm if it is taken away from its base station > some assigned distance? Or will I be able to pick one of these up for cheap... by which I mean free... by which I mean off of someones yard... by which I mean stealing... by which I mean procuring with illegal means... by which I mean walking over and picking it up, then walking away... by which I mean I'm so so lonely

[Serge @ Oct 23rd 2008 2:24PM]

i was thinking that exact same thing. you could always equip it with low-jack.

[Testies, Testies, 1, 2... 3? @ Oct 23rd 2008 2:27PM]

"All your blades are belong to us!"

[idiot @ Oct 23rd 2008 2:32PM]

grass, bite my shiny metal ass

[Mike @ Oct 23rd 2008 3:22PM]

According to the press release: "The 22-pound mower cuts day or night, rain or shine and has a 4-digit pin code lock feature required to operate the mower and an alarm for security."

[Chris Are @ Oct 23rd 2008 3:44PM]

Lawnmower, I am your new master now!

Kind of reminds me of when Jaffar finally gets Genie.

[BigD145 @ Oct 23rd 2008 3:55PM]

If you don't have the required RFID implant, it will chase you until you fall down and get eaten.

[Gabagool @ Oct 23rd 2008 2:19PM]

Looks like Chrysler Seabring

[happy_penguin @ Oct 23rd 2008 3:07PM]

-a

[jorvay @ Oct 23rd 2008 3:11PM]

...except that I wouldn't be embarassed to be seen with one of these.

[happy_penguin @ Oct 23rd 2008 3:23PM]

Yeah I saw that coming. :rolleyes:

Looks lovely to me:

http://www.carbodydesign.com/archive/2006/12/13-chrysler-sebring-convertible/Chrysler-Sebring-Convertible-2-lg.jpg

[linoge @ Oct 23rd 2008 2:22PM]

better known as Darth Vader's lawnmower

[Rogue_Genius @ Oct 23rd 2008 5:25PM]

I am all for the look. I prefer my eco-minded grass cutting machine to look as sinister as possible.
In fact, a little more batmobile/tumbler influence and I'm sold!!

[Matthew Hilario @ Oct 23rd 2008 2:25PM]

say goodbye to immigrant employment!

[kjb434 @ Oct 23rd 2008 2:42PM]

Well, I don't know about the illegal immigrants in your neck of the woods, but the ones here in Houston would destroy this mower if they saw one.

They already beat up neighborhood kids that cut lawns since they usually charge less than the illegals. Even homeowners that decide to cut their own lawn get the rough treatment in some neighborhoods.

[Lowest Ranked @ Oct 23rd 2008 2:44PM]

Illegal immigrants cost 50 cents per hour. This on the other hand...

[Rekit @ Oct 23rd 2008 2:25PM]

If Napoleon Dynamite designed the new Batmobile......

[Craig @ Oct 23rd 2008 2:27PM]

If this was a scale model of the next Prius, big-ass rear wheels and all, they'd have to open a thousand new plants just to make enough.

[why not the LS2LS7? @ Oct 23rd 2008 2:31PM]

The solar panel is useless. It can't generate enough energy to power itself. If left outside for a day it might run a few minutes.

But who will leave their $3,000 22lb mower out for a couple days?

[CJ @ Oct 23rd 2008 3:00PM]

Even worse, once fully charged these expensive solar panels do absolutely nothing. If I'm going to spend the money to be green and have solar panels, I want them contributing to the grid at maximum available efficiency all day long.

[StalematE @ Oct 23rd 2008 2:33PM]

I want to see what Sir James Dyson can do with this concept... it'll roll on a ball, it will suck consistantly... and dry your hands...

[Lowest Ranked @ Oct 23rd 2008 2:45PM]

For 3k, it already sucks.

[offroadering @ Oct 23rd 2008 2:35PM]

ill keep my current fuel efficient 4 stroke lawn mower. and ill use that 3K bucks to buy some carbon credits..... Yeah right!...




"ice caps have been melting since the ice age"

[kjb434 @ Oct 23rd 2008 2:47PM]

I certainly agree!

Of course now the South Polar cap is growing fast and the north is acting different. The north one has meteorological conditions to be growing, but an underground volcano system is warming the waters. In the end man is completely out of the equation.

You can tell this device is meant for people that need show others that they care and not to truly be environmentally friendly. Lawnmower engines are quite efficient. The use barely any fuel. And what happen to getting a little exercise by pushing a lawnmower. And if you want to be environmentally friendly, you would use the non-engine lawnmowers. They don't use anything but human power.

[Rob @ Oct 23rd 2008 2:38PM]

I'm all for automating things or appliances in order to make our lives easier. But, automating something that has a set of spinning blades going a few hundred revolutions per minute and that can easily chop up a limb, or a pet, that gets in its way is just frightening. Maybe I've seen too many movies with huge tractors running over people in the corn/wheat fields. And even those were not automated. Unless you consider the nutty driver being in an "automated" state of mind.

[rock99rock @ Oct 23rd 2008 2:42PM]

You just made me think of "The Happening". Sweet sickness.

[happy_penguin @ Oct 23rd 2008 3:21PM]

There are already many robotic mowers available such as this:

http://www.friendlyrobotics.com/robomow/rm400/

They have built in safety systems to prevent accidents which probably make them safer than human motivated mowers which already have a long history of chopping off limbs. Not to mention you have to use common sense with any powered tool. You should never leave it totally unattended.

[Caleb @ Oct 23rd 2008 3:30PM]

I don't belive it has blades. At least the ones I've see didn't, they had plastic monfiliment inserts. Kind of like the ones used in weed whackers only not on a reel and a bit more heavy duty.

[happy_penguin @ Oct 23rd 2008 3:38PM]

According to Husqvarna's own information it does have blades:

http://www.automower.us/node151.aspx

[Caleb @ Oct 23rd 2008 8:39PM]

Hey your right! I went to there sight and looked around a little. They are blades but it appears they are plastic. The one I looked at a couople of years ago was a differnt modeel and it used monofiliment. It must be that they didn't work as well as expected so they went to a plastic blade. I know with the ones that had monofiliment the reasoning was that it took less power by using plastic and a higher RPM then relying on the inertia of a metal blade. Here is the manuel if anyones interested. It's a pdf. http://www.automower.us/files/Automower/doc/OM/EN_OM_2008_Solar%20Hybrid%20(US).pdf

[Greg @ Oct 23rd 2008 2:41PM]

Saw this at the "One Thing" expo in Hartford, CT two weeks ago. It's pretty neat. In the northern parts of the US it needs to use the docking station to get a full charge. In the south, it can fully charge using the photovoltaic cells. I was told the next model will have SMS capability so if it gets stuck while cutting your grass, it will send you a "trouble" text message.

[bangladeshiluv @ Oct 23rd 2008 2:44PM]

mexican labor is cheaper

[Das Boot @ Oct 23rd 2008 6:33PM]

i am mexican and i feel highly offended, and by highly offended i mean i will cut your grass for 5 bucks. Although I am an illegal are you sure you want to hire me?

[Caleb @ Oct 23rd 2008 8:42PM]

But if he hires you he has to pay a carbon offset tax because you are not solar powered! ;-)

[Galley @ Oct 23rd 2008 2:46PM]

My cordless electric lawn mower was only $269. I don't think it's worth three grand to let the robotic overlords to take control.

[merrihaven @ Oct 23rd 2008 2:55PM]

And still the spamming of microblog sites continues from TechGlance....

[anonymous @ Oct 23rd 2008 2:29PM]

Dude... Nobody cares, stop posting the same comment, let the people responsible for those services decide what to do with the guy. We don't care about your issues.

[somedude @ Oct 23rd 2008 3:00PM]

Ass, grass or cash; nobody rides for free.

excluding benhc911.

[Patriks7 @ Oct 23rd 2008 3:00PM]

When I first saw the picture, I thought some random company was making another one of those hybrid cars that have to look like they are from Star Trek or something..

[patriotsn1 @ Oct 23rd 2008 3:01PM]

Any word on a built in cat detector? Poor mittens....

[barry99705 @ Oct 23rd 2008 3:12PM]

That is called Darwinism. The smart cats will survive, the dumb ones become fertilizer.

[happy_penguin @ Oct 23rd 2008 4:00PM]

Good work, patriotsn1. You literally made me laugh out loud with your comment. :D