It's like a Roomba for your lawn
Teenagers, persuade your parents to buy this lawnmower and you can get your weekend afternoons back. The LawnBott seems to have some competition.
The Auto Mower from Husqvarna eliminates noise, hassle and is environmentally more friendly than your average gas-powered lawnmower.
(Credit: Husqvarna Auto Mower)It works similarly to the Roomba robot vacuum in that it self-charges at a docking station, navigates on its own and can be set to run on schedule. You shallowly bury a boundary wire around the general perimeter of your lawn and any gardens to let the machine know its limits. It can handle inclines, rain and simply reverses itself when it bumps into things like trees.
While the $2,000 sticker might present some shock, compare it with the fuel costs your average $200 to $400 mower sucks up or the fees of a landscaping service. The Auto Mower runs on a rechargeable nickel metal hydride battery that can mow for about four to six hours between charges.
Since it's quiet, you can set the Auto Mower to run at night. In fact, the company says it only needs to be set up once at the beginning of the season and then can be left on its own to mow and charge. Safety sensors stop the blades--which only spin while the machine is in motion--when the machine is lifted off the ground.
But the Auto Mower isn't yet widely available. Only a few stores in the U.S. currently sell it, and one of them is a computer store.
Candace Lombardi is a staff writer at CNET News.com
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robots are a great idea -- reducing or eliminating thankless chores.
Ok. My lawn guy charges $80/month, so $2000 would cover a little over two years. I don't have to increase my electricity bill to fuel his batteries, nor do I have to worry about wiping the grass clippings off him after he finishes with the lawn. Nor do I have to worry about him getting damaged by rocks or wet grass.