Could Robotic Lawn Care Cripple Deep Space Exploration?

Posted on 22/04/2015 by John Thomas

Mowing the lawn is one of the more odious tasks homeowners have to deal with, especially during the hot summer months. But iRobot, the maker of the popular Roomba robot vacuum cleaner, wants to do away with that chore with a new line of robot lawnmowers. However, while kicking back on the couch with a cold one while a machine automatically trims your grass might sound awesome, some scientists say these machines could hamper our abilities to delve into deep space.

How? To wirelessly guide their lawnmowers, iRobot wants to use a section of the wireless spectrum currently employed by astronomers who use radio telescopes to peer into deep space. And now some concerned astronomers have sent their concerns to the FCC for a resolution.

Who will win? It’s hard to tell, because the battle hinges on a limited resource. According to an article in wallstreetdaily.com, “the astronomers’ objections are part of a supply and demand equation, where multiple bodies are scrapping for a relatively limited amount of radio spectrum as wireless applications increase.”

But knowing how much Americans love their leisure time, I have a sinking feeling robotic lawn care will end up meaning more to more people than discovering the mysteries of what appears to be a fairly grass-free universe.

LEGO Lawnmower Mows My Mind

Posted on 01/12/2013 by Paul Strauss

Despite the fact that I live in the city and have a really tiny lawn, I’m still really bad about mowing my lawn regularly. I think I’d rather stay inside and build things out of LEGO. But maybe if I had a LEGO lawnmower, I could kill two birds with one stone.

LEGO artist Sean Kenney has already beat me to the punch, having built this amazing lawnmower out of bricks. The full-scale mower was built using 13,704 individual LEGO bricks, and took Kenney and his assistants over 200 hours to design and build.

The mower was built for Kenney’s traveling LEGO exhibition Nature Connects, which is touring the U.S. through 2016. It’s currently on exhibit at the North Carolina Arboretum in Asheville, NC through January 5, 2014, among many other amazing LEGO creations.

Unfortunately, the LEGO lawnmower isn’t functional, but that’s okay with me. I’d be happy to just sit and stare at it instead of cutting the grass anyhow.

The Honda HF2620 Lawnmower: It’s Probably Faster Than Your Car

Posted on 19/07/2013 by Range

When you’re cutting your lawn, it always seems to take a lot of time. Not anymore, thanks to this lawn mower, which can mow your lawn at speeds of up to 130 mph. OK, maybe that’s not entirely accurate, but still, it’s fast enough for the Stig from Top Gear!

Honda UK teamed up with Team Dynamics to re-engineer this lawn mower, the Honda HF2620, that has an all-new chassis. It comes with a 1000cc engine that comes from a Honda VTR Firestorm motorcycle, which produces 109hp. Thanks to this engine, the lawn mower can reach 62mph in four seconds. It’s top speed is 130 mph, and it comes with a paddle-shift six-speed gearbox.

honda team dynamics hf2620

honda team dynamics hf2620 side

honda team dynamics hf2620 top

The HF2620 can still mow your lawn, but at only 15mph. Well, at least you can get around pretty fast!

[via Autoblog]

Honda’s Mean Mower runs up to 130MPH, makes yardwork exciting (video)

Posted on 19/07/2013 by Mariella Moon

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.

Filed under: Misc, Alt

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Via: WSJ

Source: Honda UK

Ardumower: The Lazy Man’s Lawnmower

Posted on 30/05/2013 by Conner Flynn

Some students at the LeCroy Career Technical Center have created an automated lawn mower for a national robotics competition. I say they just didn’t want to mow the lawn anymore. But no matter the reason, they have made a pretty cool lawnmower. Having it do all of the work is a nice bonus though.

Ardumower

This Ardumower was made from a motorized wheelchair, a push mower, an Arduino mini-computer, sensors and other parts. First they disassembled the wheelchair, then created the metal frame and then fitted the programmable hardware that allowed them to autonomously or remotely operate it.

They used Google Maps as the coordinate locater, so that they could program the Arduino to cut grass all by itself. They have to work on obstacle avoidance next.

Or if they had about $3000 lying around, they could just go for one of these.

[via DamnGeeky]

Omni by Virtuix is Must Have Accessory for Oculus Rift

Posted on 23/04/2013 by i4u

Twenty years ago I was a big fan of virtual reality technology. It was the time of Stephen King's Lawnmower man and William Gibson's Neuromancer. 3D Virtual Reality glasses and 3D trackers got...

Honda MIIMO Robotic Lawnmower

Posted on 22/08/2012 by Johan

Honda MIIMO Robotic Lawnmower

Honda will release the MIIMO robotic lawnmower in Europe starting 2013. This robotic lawnmower is designed to cut 2-3mm of grass at a time, ensuring your lawn is always beautifully cut. The MIIMO also supports self-charging. The device constantly monitors the levels of its lithium-ion battery and automatically returns to the docking station when it needs to recharge. The MIIMO will be available in two versions such as the MIIMO 300 and MIIMO 500. As its name suggests, the MIIMO 300 offers a maximum perimeter cut of 300m, while the MIIMO 500 has a maximum perimeter cut of 500m. Sadly, there is no info on pricing or availability so far. [Newlaunches]

Honda’s Miimo robotic lawn mower beats the heat, won’t pour your lemonade

Posted on 22/08/2012 by Billy Steele

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.

Continue reading Honda's Miimo robotic lawn mower beats the heat, won't pour your lemonade

Filed under: Household, Robots

Honda's Miimo robotic lawn mower beats the heat, won't pour your lemonade originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Aug 2012 21:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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