It seems like the Great American Pastime of cutting the
grass was a tradition that many of us remember dreading as we grew old enough
to push the mower. Whoever invented the riding mower was surely a hero to long
suffering homeowners who didn’t have kids or anyone to “inherit” the weekly
chore. Now, technology has come to the rescue once again.
Good news weekend yard warriors! Instead of coming up with “creative” ways to
mow remotely, a trip to the store might be all the effort you need. It looks
like there may be a new product coming to a lawn care center near you that will
free you from some of the hassles if getting the perfect looking lawn. The FCC
has recently given the green light to iRobot Corporation, the makers of the
Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner, to make and sell a robotic lawnmower.
The robotic mowers have already been in use in Europe in
recent years. Most use some sort of underground fence or other system to keep
the mower in the proper area. The one approved for iRobot seems to have a
different system that uses wireless stakes in the ground to direct it within
the boundaries. The beacon design will allow it to operate but not interfere
with signals of other devices using the same frequency.
Brendan Spaar enjoys working in his yard so the robotic
mower won’t be his next tech purchase. Using the regular mower will allow
Brendan to keep his lawn and wallet looking good. However, he might suggest it
to his neighbor who keeps mowing over the cord of his electric mower.
