If you are a male residing in the United States, then you are well aware of the lawn mower. Mowing the lawn is sort of like a right of passage. A passing of the torch so to speak when the oldest son reaches the age when he receives the assignment of mowing the lawn from dad or mom.
There is no guarantee that he’ll like it. In fact, odds are that he won’t.
Well, this particular right of passage may become a thing of the past a lot sooner than anyone ever realized. That’s because there are now robotic lawn mowers that can do the job of cutting the grass. We have reached the age when junior doesn’t have to worry about picking up the torch and taking up the responsibility of mowing the lawn.
A Worx robotic lawn mower.
(Courtesy: Worx)
Robotic lawn mowers do the task of cutting the lawn all by themselves without any interference from a human. In fact, some of these technological marvels can be programmed to wake up on its own and cut the lawn on a particular time of a particular day of the week and then when the job is done return automatically to its charging pod. Many of them come with an app that allows you to program and control them from your smartphone either from a lawn chair as you sip on a slow gin fizz or from your armchair in your man cave as you watch baseball on your high definition television.
You are required to perform a set up prior to releasing robotic lawn mowers onto your grass for the first time. You need to install a low-voltage wire around the perimeter of the lawn that serves as an invisible fence. It is sort of like the invisible fence that keeps your dog from wandering off your lawn.
Robotic lawn mowers feature sensors that alert them when they bump into a tree or any other obstruction and then they just turn around and take on another path. There are also robotic lawn mowers that follow a path determined by a buried wire so that they can avoid the obstacles in the first place. In addition, many of these contraptions shut themselves off if someone comes along and picks them up.
For those of you who fear that robotic lawn mowers can easily be stolen, you will be happy to learn that many models also include a security device that turns on an audible alarm when such an attempt is made. Moreover, if someone does take the mower, it can’t be used with any other set up, but the one you have along the perimeter of your lawn. In fact, some models have a GPS system that identifies its location so that you or the police can retrieve it.
If you decide that you will kill to have one of these contraptions, then keep in mind that they are expensive.
Here are a few samples of robotic lawn mowers that are now available including their cost.
The Robomow RS630 features a pair of triangular blades that extend to the edges of its 44-pound body. It can cut a broad 22-inch strip. Lift up its cover and you’ll find a gear knob that allows you to make adjustments to the mowing height, which ranges from ¾ of an inch to a little more than 3-inches. It has a running time of up to 70 minutes. So it can take on a lawn that is about ¾ of an acre. It includes an app for an android or iOS smartphone that allows you to tweak settings and even steer the robot if necessary or desired. This unit has a price of $2,100.
The Husqvarna Automower 220 AC can use a separate guide wire that has been laid down to guide it to its charging pod. The 19.8-pound unit includes three short cutting blades cut an 8.7-inch wide path for up to 60 minutes per charge. So it can cover a lawn that is about half an acre or smaller. This unit costs $2,400.
The Worx Landroid M weighs only 20 pounds and cuts a 7-inch diameter swath. It is easy to set up –- just route the wire and punch a few keys. It can take on a lawn that is about one-quarter acre and features three razor blades. The robot also includes a built-in rain sensor to ensure a cleaner cut and will stop mowing when the weather is bad and head back to its base. It will resume its pass of the lawn when the rain stops. There is a dial you can use to adjust its cutting height from about 1-1/2-inches to 4-inches. There is an app for the European version. It costs $1,000.
You can see a demonstration of the Automower here.
You can watch a demonstration of 10 robotic lawn mowers that are available for 2017 here.
