Robotic lawn mower

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Husqvarna Automower^[1] in action.

Robotic lawn mowers represented the second largest category of household autonomous robots used by the end of 2005. A typical robotic lawn mower requires the user to set up a border wire around the lawn that defines the area to be mowed. The robot uses this wire to locate the boundary of the area to be trimmed and in some cases to locate a recharging dock. Robotic mowers are capable of maintaining up to 5 acres of grass. Power usage varies from about 100 watts (comparable to a light bulb) for 1/2 acre to 500 watts (comparable to a refrigerator) to maintain 5 acres.^{[dubious – discuss]}

Robotic lawn mowers are increasingly sophisticated, are self-docking and contain rain sensors, nearly eliminating human interaction.

1 Brands
- 1.1 Robomower
- 1.2 LawnBott
2 See also
3 References

[edit] Brands

Robomow is capable of maintaining up to 1/2 acre of grass while the LawnBott is capable of maintaining up to 2 acres.

[edit] Robomower

The Robomower is a robotic mulching lawnmower made by Friendly Robotics.^[2]

Invented in Israel, the product charges from household current, so it directly causes no greenhouse gas emissions. It was identified by the Guinness Book of World Records as the best-selling robotic lawn mower in the world. It comes with a rechargeable lead-acid battery pack. It can be programmed to mow around the perimeter of the lawn and inside the lawn. It has sensors on the front and on the back.

The Friendly Robotics mower uses sophisticated patented tiling algorithms to calculate the most effective pattern for cutting the entire lawn.

[edit] LawnBott

The LawnBott is a robotic (autonomous) lawn mower marketed in the U.S. and Canada by Kyodo America Home Robotics.^[3] The mowers are manufactured by the Italian engineering company Zucchetti Centro Sistemi,^[4] and are distributed in some European countries under the brand names Ambrogio, Oscar, and Wiper (which is German for "viper"). They are programmed to emerge from a recharging station on command or at a scheduled time, criss-cross a yard in a more-or-less random fashion for a set period of time, and return to the recharging station. There are around 15 active dealers^[5] in the U.S. Several online stores offer the LawnBott Evolution for around US$2500, and the latest model, the LB3500, for around US$3249 (as of Feb 2008). Reliable U.S. sales figures are not available, as is typical for domestic robots, but it is safe to say that they are considerably less popular than the competing Robomower.^{[citation needed]} LawnBott currently has 3 models:

LB2000/LB2100 (Professional)- comes standard with 2 lead acid batteries. The stated coverage is 3/4 acre with slopes of up to 12 degrees. Currently it retails at $1,949.
LB3200/LB3210 (Evolution)- is the same size as the LawnBott Professional however it has a very high-tech lithium-ion battery. It can cover 3/4 acre and 27 degree slopes. A 2nd internal lithium-ion battery can be added to increase coverage to approximately 1 1/4 acre.
LB3500- comes standard with 2 lithium-ion batteries with room for 4 more. Some websites state that it can cover 1 acre (43,000 sq ft) of grass out of the box and up to 3 acres with 6 batteries.

The lithium-ion batteries contain smart chips that extend the life expectancy to 4-5 years.

They measure roughly 22 x 16 x 10 inches and weigh 22 pounds. They are designed for yards of roughly 3/4 acre or less with no sharp slopes and not too many obstacles.^[6] The newest model is designed for yards of up to 1.5 acre with installation of extra batteries. A perimeter wire is included, for marking off the area to be mowed.^[7] They are designed to cut the tops of the grass stalks, that is, less than will usually be cut by a push-mower, and to compensate by cutting more often.^[8]