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iRobot Terra mower cuts your lawn with Roomba-like smarts
If you took a look at newer Roombas and wondered why that clever mapping couldn't be used to cut your lawn... well, you're not alone. iRobot has unveiled the Terra, a robotic lawn mower that uses the company's mapping tech to trim your grass with minimal fuss. Instead of marking your lawn area with boundary wires as you do with many existing robomowers, you place wireless beacons (shown below) and drive the bot once around the perimeter. After that, it's largely hands-off. Like a Roomba, the Terra will automatically make the rounds and return to a charging base whenever it's low on power.
iRobot hasn't given up on developing Roomba's lawn mowing sibling
You know how long it's been since we first heard that iRobot's making a robotic lawn mower? Nine years. After almost a decade of wondering if we'll ever see Roomba's more outdoorsy sibling, iRobot's finally giving us a glimpse of how the device will work through an FCC filing. Other robot lawn mowers require you to prep your lawn by burying wires around the perimeter -- the machines will recognize those wires and won't venture beyond them. iRobot, however, plans to use a wireless beacon system that entails burying four to nine beacons to mark the edges of your lawn. Those beacons will calculate the robots' position within the property and transmit it to the machine.
iPod vs. Lawn Mower
A sad sight. Personally, the 3rd gen iPod nano is one of my favorite Apple devices of all time. The color screen was fantastic for playing games (Peggle was my favorite) and it was almost impossibly thin for its time. And this is what it looks like after it's been demolished by a lawn mower. [Photo Credit: Matt Rasmussen]
Honda's Mean Mower runs up to 130MPH, makes yardwork exciting (video)
Forget robotic drones; Honda's new lawnmower can turn a dreary task into an X Games sport. Honda aptly calls it the Mean Mower and claims it can reach speeds up to 130MPH and can go from 0 to 60MPH in just four seconds. For a lawnmower to reach those staggering numbers, the company's UK arm reached out to Team Dynamics, its British Touring Car Championship partner. They redesigned one of the company's machines, equipped it with a motorcycle engine to make it more powerful and replaced some of its parts with fiberglass to shave off some of its weight. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean you can cut grass while speeding and drifting like Vin Diesel -- its cutting cables only work if you slow it down to 15MPH. No word yet on whether the Mean Mower will hit the market, but speed devils can live their Fast and Furious lawnmowing dreams vicariously through the driver in the clip below.
Honda's Miimo robotic lawn mower beats the heat, won't pour your lemonade
If you're looking to plan ahead for next summer's grueling yard chores, Honda has something that will help you sweat a bit less. The company has unveiled Miimo, a robotic lawn mower that trims 2-3mm of grass in several shifts during the course of a week. The green-thumbed robot navigates with a combination of controls, timers and sensors while working inside the constraints of a buried boundary wire. As you might expect, you'll be able to ditch the gas can as well thanks to a lithium-ion battery and docking station (similar to a Roomba). If you're worried about adjustments, cutting height can be set between 20mm (0.79 inches) and 60mm (2.36 inches) with three operation modes will suite the size of each job. When the unit arrives in Europe in early 2013, 300 and 500 models will be available sporting monikers that indicate their respective maximum cut perimeter in meters (about 328 yard for the former and 547 yards for the latter). For a few more details, head on past the break for the full PR.
Craftsman aims to pimp your lawnmower with digital dash, traction control and more
At this week's North American International Auto Show, Craftsman unveiled its 2012 CTX tractor line to the car-loving masses, and let's just get this out there -- this is not your father's lawnmower. Propelled by a 30-horsepower Briggs & Stratton motor, this grass-assassin can hit forward speeds of 8MPH and, for those Jason Statham-style chase scenes, 3MPH in reverse. The tractor is equipped with automatic traction control, an electronic fuel management system that removes the need for a carburetor, electronic cutting height adjustment and a 54-inch mowing plain with "quick deck removal." Couple that with cruise control, digital instruments, a cup holder and 12-volt power adapter (have to have some suds and songs while you mow, right?) and you have yourself quite the package. The CTX will be available this February at Sears stores nationwide and will be priced between $3000 and $6500.
McConnel's Robocut mower verges on obscene (video)
Woe betide any Appalachian tiger swallowtails who get caught up in this ungodly four-foot flailhead. Moving to higher ground won't save them either, because Robocut's 40hp Isuzu diesel engine and high grip tracks can chew up 55-degree slopes without ever pausing to contemplate. The bargain price? £40,000 ($60,000) plus extra for antihistamines. Apocalyptic video after the break.
Husqvarna lawnmower remote for iOS: a lot less fun than we'd hoped
Sure, we've been living in a series of safe houses and seedy motels since 1968, but that doesn't mean that you can't have nice things. A two-car garage, white picket fence, and a healthy lawn: that's the American Dream, right there. But with all that middle class comfort comes responsibility -- and how are you going to find the time to keep the grass under control when you're working three jobs to keep up with the mortgage on your McMansion? Friends, that's where Husqvarna's My Automower app comes in. That's right: rather than sending SMS messages to your GPS-enabled Automower, all of its functions (starting, stopping, tracking the thing's progress via GPS) can now be handled from the safety of your iOS device. What it will not do, however, is transform your robot lawnmower into a semi-autonomous, blade-wielding backyard defender (hopefully the company addresses that in a software update). PR after the break.
Bobby Cleveland goes 96mph on a lawnmower, mows down world record (video)
In the world of motorsport there are many legends, and American driver Bobby Cleveland has just cemented his place among them. Bobby Cleveland is the world's fastest lawnmower driver, achieving an average speed at the Bonneville Salt Flats of 96.529mph. That's on a riding mower that, from a distance at least, still looks like something you might find at Sears next to the tents and bikes. And yes, it will still cut grass, though we have doubts about its efficiency at that task. The team behind this beast had hoped to hit 104mph to correspond with a sponsoring octane booster of the same name, but didn't quite manage to crest the century mark. Still, 96 was more than enough to break the existing record of 87.833mph. Why engage in such frivolous behaviors? If you have to ask you'll never understand.
Husqvarna's Panthera Leo is the mower of the future for your lawn of today
Concept cars are a dime a dozen around these parts -- but concept lawnmowers? A little more rare, and the latest from Husqvarna looks to be about as closely related to that rusty John Deere in your shed as Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes McLaren F1 car is to your boss's E-Class. It has paddles on the wheel for adjusting three independent mowing blades, a "sophisticated" LCD display that displays speed and obstacle proximity, and a rechargeable lithium-phosphate battery with enough staying power to trim your yard for two hours straight, all shown in a soothing and thoroughly rendered promo video after the break. The one thing it can't do, apparently, is tame the wild locks of Swedish male models.
Husqvarna's SMS-enabled Automower 260 ACX: ur lawnz mowed kk?
Good news for unmanned lawnmower enthusiasts (we know there are at least two of you out there). Husqvarna's latest, the Automower 260 ACX, can be programmed to send you an SMS text message if something should interrupt the mow job -- because sometimes looking outside to see if your robot is still tending to the lawn is just too much to ask. This bad boy gets an hour on a single charge -- which should be plenty of time to take down about half an acre of lawn -- and upon returning to its docking station, the battery is recharged in roughly forty minutes. Recommended retail price: €4,000 (that's over $5,200). No word yet on a stateside release.[Via News Market]
Casmobot lawnmower is a slave to the flick of a Wiimote
Most of the time we see a Wii mote controlling something tangible, it's more for entertainment value like an airsoft gun or Rovio. The Casmobot lawnmower, developed by scientists from the University of Southern Denmark, is actually quite useful if you loathe outdoor chores. It can be steered into grass-cutting action via the tilt of the controller synced with Bluetooth. Alternatively, you can drive it for a lap around the border of the yard and then put it on autopilot to mow inside the designated zone. We wouldn't run in front of it while its in motion, though, it's probably not as forgiving of interruption as a roomba. Researcher Kjeld Jensen also suggested applying the same technology to your grandmother's wheelchair, but we really don't think she'd appreciate that. See it for yourself in the video after the break.[Via Switched]
SmartMow mows the lawn but won't accept a glass of lemonade
The unmanned lawnmower is nothing new, but we still think there's something downright iffy about arming a Roomba with sharp metal blades. That said, if you've been dying to get in on the action, SmartMow might be worth checking out. Set to hit the stores in Spring '09 for $749 (much cheaper than some other robo-mowers), the thing weighs 17 pounds, features three cutting blades, will cut around a sixth of an acre on a single charge (about 2-3 hours), and is auto-docking. As far as knowing where to mow, SmartMow eschews sci-fi grass detection algorithms and rudimentary artificial intelligence in favor of the tried but true method of marking off your mowable yard with an edge wire. The best thing about the bot, however, may be its educational value -- not only will it teach your kids about robotics, it will also show them how people with money can buy their way out of doing chores. Video after the break.[Via Robot Stock News]
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]
Gas-powered lawn mower gone solar via 3-step mod
With the price of gas these days, it's no wonder people are skittish when it comes to mowing lawns. What's more, gas-powered mowers have been shown to pollute up to 7 times as much as vehicles. Sure, you could go get a manual mower and get some exercise, but why do that when you can convert your gas-powered mower into an electric one? This modification takes you through three steps to do just that, including: removing the engine and installing an electric replacement, converting the engine to one powered by solar panels, and installing the solar panel. Expect conversion costs to run around $1,500. Of course, you could always just buy a Huskvarna and skip all this tomfoolery.
Husqvarna introduces pricey solar powered Automower
Robotic lawn mowers have been keeping yards tidy for their masters for a good while now, but Husqvarna is looking to teach an old robot new tricks with its Automower. As expected, the grass muncher is ultra-quiet and outputs zero emissions, and you can even program it to take off and get to work whenever you please. Reportedly, a fully charged battery can get about 40 minutes of cutting done, and best of all, the unit will automatically return to its charging base to juice back up if the sun isn't out. Still, with a price tag of around £2,000 ($3,971), you may just be better off paying that punk kid down the street to handle your mowing needs.[Via Pocket-lint, video at Megawhat]
LawnBott LB3500 offers Bluetooth control, stylin' rims
iRobot may own the market for autonomous indoor cleaning devices, but when it comes to taming that wild jungle you call a backyard, the new king of the hill may well be the LawnBott LB3500. This fourth-generation LawnBott from Kyodo America improves upon its predecessors in nearly every category: even though it weighs ten pounds less than the entry-level LB2000, it offers up a greater coverage area, increased cutting width, greatly improved incline climbing capability, longer runtime, and best of all, a Bluetooth radio for programming or direct control by cellphone. Of course, all these high-end features don't come cheap, and when the LB3500 does come to market (date: unknown), we imagine that it's gonna cost a good deal more than the current high-end, $2,500 LB3200. Check out the gallery below for some more angles.Update: Wow! Reader John Locke somehow managed to send an email from the island notifying us that The Robot Store has the LB3500 listed at $3,699, on sale for "only" $3,249. Also available is the "Super" LB3500, which is really just a kit that includes two extra lithium-ion batteries and tacks almost $600 on to the price. Thanks, John, but we bet Jack and Kate won't be too happy when they find out you have Gmail access.%Gallery-14640%[Via Slashgear]
Robot lawnmower kills Danish man
In what we surely hope isn't the opening salvo of the robot insurrection, a 45-year old Danish municipal worker was tragically killed by an industrial robotic lawnmower this afternoon, after the unit tumbled off a slope and onto the poor fellow doing his job. Although we've seen quite a few robotic lawnmowers, we're not too familiar with the RC-controlled Dvorak Spider 01 unit the man was using; our only hope is that this is, of course, an isolated incident.
Build your own RC lawnmower -- intimidate neighborhood dogs
Sure, you could be boring and just buy a remote control mower all primed and ready to go, but where's the fun in that? Friendly hacker Terry is sharing his instructions for building your very own Destroyer of Lawns, and it doesn't sound too terribly hard as far as awe-inspiring hacks go. The lawnmower cannibalizes parts from a powered wheelchair, requires a bit of electronics knowhow to get the RC bits to interface with the wheelchair control, and the rest is pretty much welding. The Hack-A-Day folks recommend recommend a failsafe for shutting off the mower if it loses radio communications, but they were always worrywarts like that.[Via Hack-A-Day]
Researchers develop closed hydrogen fuel cell system
If EEStor's elaborate claims are to be believed, we suppose all these other fuel alternatives should just hang up the gloves while they're at it, but just in case things don't pan out so well, we suppose the continued research in hydrogen fuel cell power isn't such a bad idea. Although we've seen glimpses of hydrogen-powered vehicles (and um, crafts) in the past, most of these modes of transportation have been large-scale, and now it seems that a closed system has been crafted which would make these techniques suitable for more diminutive applications such as chainsaws and lawnmowers. The research team has reportedly found a way to better control the way the fuel is used, thus eliminating the need for costly recycling stations, and they insinuate that their findings are "ideal" for devices currently using small internal combustion engines that lack emissions controls. Of course, the system has yet to be broadly trialed, but if things go as planned, there's even hopes to link several of the new cells together to rival the power of cells currently being tested in the automotive industry.
