Communications of the ACM
Robot Mowers Take the Sweat Out of Lawn Care
Three key features of this robotic lawn mower are the positioning system, laser scanner to detect obstacles, and onboard computing system.
Credit: Sanjiv Singh / NPR
In the summer, the grass just grows and grows and grows. And that means people must mow and mow and mow. But maybe not for long. Grass-cutting robots already exist, and more advanced ones are being developed by researchers who hope that robots may someday be helping out professional landscapers as well as trimming the turf at golf courses and athletic fields.
"The technology is here and it works," says Ames Tiedeman, vice president of the lawn and garden division at Systems Trading Corp. in New York, which distributes the Robomow brand of machines, made by a company called Friendly Robotics. He says some models come with a kind of mini-garage so an owner can program the robot to come out at a certain time, mow for a while, then go back to its station to recharge its battery.
View a video of robotic mowers cutting the grass at FarmLinks Golf Course.
View a video of the HAL mower cutting the grass at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pa.
From NPR
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