Robotic lawn mowers soon to graze US lawns

Automated lawn mowers are more and more becoming a reality around the globe. While these sheep-replacers have started cropping up all over in Europe within the last few years, iRobot from the US has just received the go-ahead from regulators to release a hands-free, grass-cutting machine on home soil.

An NASDAQ-listed company, iRobot is popularly known for its range of Roomba vacuum cleaners, which are flat, automated dust collectors that crawl around your homestead doing what they do best. They are also an excellent source of transportation and play things for cats.

The company has also recently received a nice, fat US$9.8-million order from the US Marine Corps Systems Command for its delivery robot.

Unlike vacuum cleaners, lawn mowers are a bit more tricky to get approval for. While its air suction and filters are traded in for blades and the like, Reuters reports that the safety concern of the FCC was whether or not the wireless signals of the mowers would interfere with telescopes.

Not much is known about the gadget but, according to Reuters, the robot lawn mower would wirelessly connect with stakes in the ground operating as signal beacons, rising above the ground by as much as 61 cm.

Read more: MIT builds rescue robot that looks perfect for single combat

A price or release date on these babies aren’t yet known though we suspect the price tag to be quite hefty. Popular automated lawn mowers in Europe go for around the £2 000 mark. These include the Husqvarna Automower 220AC, John Deere Tango and the Honda Miimo. You should also take into account that you’re going to have to replace their batteries every now and then. Perhaps they’ll come paired with an automated battery replacement function?

Image via Geek