LawnBott gets smarter, more powerful
If you don't think mowing the lawn is fun, you might like this new mower. The machine designed to get the job done for you just got better.
First introduced in 2007, LawnBott is a gas-free, robotic lawnmower that can be programmed to work completely by itself. This is similar to the automatic vacuum cleaner the Roomba.
Just as the Roomba can take care of multiple rooms, the LawnBott can be set to work on up to three different zones, such as your front lawn, side grass, and backyard. It can trim grass for three to five hours on a single charge. Once the job is done or the battery is running low, the device automatically returns to its "home," where it can recharge itself.
The LawnBott uses a flat blade to cut and mulch grass at the same time. The 2009 models of the LawnBott selectively come with many possible upgrades, such as a bigger chassis, more powerful engine, better software, and smarter technology.
For example, the new models now can navigate slopes of up to 27 degrees, and the LB3500 model can maintain a large yard area up to 40,000 square feet. They can also come with a rain detector that will make the machine automatically go "home" when rain is detected.
According to its manufacturer, the LawnBott uses about $7 to $10 worth of electricity a year.
I don't know about its effectiveness as a lawnmower, but this sure is a cool toy. It's an expensive one, too. The cheapest model of the robotic mower, the LB2110, costs around $2,000. The flagship LB3500 model costs another $1,500.
Dong Ngo is a CNET editor who covers networking and network storage, and writes about anything else he finds interesting. You can also listen to his podcast at insidecnetlabs.cnet.com. E-mail Dong. 
