Autoblog:
Miimo is an autonomous robotic mower that Honda will be selling in the European market only (for now) starting in 2013.
Miimo runs on power supplied by its lithium-ion battery pack and, just like a Roomba robotic vacuum, will return to its charging station for a fresh batch of electrons when it runs out.
The mower can operate in a random pattern, a directional mode where it mows back and forth in lines, or a combination of the two. As for safety, Miimo has bump sensors so it won’t break any potted plants, and if lifted off the ground, its blades will automatically stop and starting up again requires entering a unique PIN number.
As a kid, sweating behind an old fashioned push-blade mower (no – I’m not that old. My father was that cheap!), I would have saved my allowance and bought one of these!
My dad always had a helluva time trying to get me to mow the lawn. One time he said, “Would you at least mow the lawn for me if I was in the hospital on my death bed?” I told him, “No, but I’d tell you I did.”
I don’t know … a robot with blades seems a bad idea to me. I absolutely love my Roomba, but it has sucked up many things that I didn’t want it to (house plants, papers, kids toys, etc.). One friend even left their Roomba going with their dog at home … the dog got diarrhea and the Roomba proceeded to smear it all over the carpet!
The site says that it requires supervision, but you know that most people will just let it do its thing.
You meant to have an apostrophe between “kids” and “toys,” not a comma, right?
Supervision = hammock + beer
EXACTLY my thought too! 🙂