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.
I know Wii remotes have already been used to control coil guns and extremely unsettling black widow spiders, but now you can actually have fun mowing the lawn.
A group of highly domesticated scientists at the University of Southern Denmark decided the world needed to be spared from the pain of shortening grass until the next unseasonal downpour. So they created a lawn mower controlled by a Wii remote.
They've called it Casmobot. And just when I thought this name might have an allusion to something vaguely Viking, I was disabused by the explanation that the "Casmo" part stands for Computer Assisted Slope Mowing.
The design is quite simple. The Wiimote is connected by a little Bluetooth to a computer and a bunch of robotics in the machine.
Depending on how much fun you want to have, you can either keep tilting your Wiimote to direct the mower or you can just guide it around the perimeter of an area and it will automatically cut all the grass inside.
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Robotic lawnmowers are getting to be so common that they even come in hybrid versions and, for our colleagues at Crave UK, commemorative St. George's Day editions. But to be honest, they're not exactly the kind of robots we envisioned.
The "Mega Dynamizer," on the other hand, is more like it. The little guy seen in the accompanying video works tirelessly with nary a complaint, according to TechEBlog, providing both entertainment and doing the job "with reasonable effectiveness--at least until it runs into a doghouse." That's when the real fun begins anyway.
(Credit:
Uncrate)
The "Automower Solar Hybrid" it's not, but this manually operated mower is nonetheless claiming to do its part for the environment by running on electricity instead of gasoline.
Neuton makes a line of emission-free push mowers that are powered by 24-volt batteries and run for 45 to 60 minutes on a charge, according to Uncrate. They could be a decent alternative for those Nervous Nellie homeowners who eschew robo-mowers for fear that they'll be stolen.
Perhaps its most unusual mowing characteristic, however, is that it's silent. Which will be a disappointment to surly teenagers protesting their chore duties.
(Credit:
Nintendo)
If you have $3000 burning a hole in your pocket and are looking for a hot new lawn decoration that won't need to be replaced with seasonal changes (unless you're that weirdo who keeps the inflatable Santa up all year round), man, you are going to love hearing this. Someone is making these 5-foot-tall Super Mario figures, previously only sold to retailers, available to the average consumer. (Well, the average consumer with an extra $3000 on hand.) Now, you can have a Mario of your very own.
Imagine the possibilities! They could upstage your wacky neighbor's lawn gnomes like nothing else. Except, um, putting an enormous Super Mario in your front yard might make you the wacky neighbor.
(Via Wonderland)
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