from the and-the-flowers-and-the-garden... dept.
Submitted via IRC for Bytram
iRobot's Terra cuts the grass while you relax
For some, mowing the lawn is intensely satisfying. For others, it's a time-consuming chore. If the latter sounds like you, take heart. Help is on the way from iRobot, the company that gave us the Roomba robot vacuum. Its latest creation, the iRobot Terra, is a grass-cutting robot designed to autonomously trim your turf. According to iRobot, the Terra will be as smart and as easy to use as a Roomba.
iRobot's entry into the automated lawn care space is significant. It's another signal this market is growing. One report predicts that sales of these products will exceed $2 billion (roughly £1.52 billion/AU$2.79 billion) by 2022. The sophistication of robot mowers is also on the rise. Recently, multiple manufacturers announced that their models will soon work with Google Assistant and Alexa. They'll boast better navigation too, thanks to onboard GPS.
[...] One big difference between the Terra and other robot lawn mowers is the iRobot model's navigation system. Competing products such as the Robomow, and Honda Miio require boundary wires to keep them away from off-limit areas. These wires act as an electronic fence, and must be physically installed throughout your property.
Instead of wires, the Terra relies on a series of wireless beacons to triangulate its position, similar to those that come with iRobot's Roombas. You'll need to drive at least two of the thin, rod-shaped beacons into the ground to provide the Terra mower with a point of reference. Then you manually drive the Terra, via its mobile app, around the edges of your lawn. This helps the robot create a digital map of its surroundings.
During this initial setup process, you also instruct Terra about areas it should avoid. Examples include flower and garden beds, furniture, or decorative objects. That done, Terra should be good to go -- no wires needed.
[...] iRobot hasn't fleshed out some of the key details for Terra yet. The company said it should be able to tackle the size of the typical American lawn, but it declined to give specifics about the typical charge time, or run time for Terra's battery. The Terra's total coverage area, along with the precise grade of hill it can handle also remain a mystery.
iRobot also hasn't disclosed exact pricing for the Terra yet. The company did tell me that it should be, "similar in price to other lawn-mowing robots". That's a bit discouraging, since the price range for the category at present goes from $900 to $10,000 or so. That's considerably more than you'll pay for a gas or electric push mower, or for the cost of a mowing service.
Theft is also particular concern for an expensive device that stays outside. iRobot didn't sound worried when I asked about the possibility. The company said cryptically that, "stealing a Terra would be a disappointing experience for someone who might do it," although they didn't elaborate further.
(Score: 5, Funny) by takyon on Monday February 04 2019, @06:40AM (14 children)
Mowing your children, your pets, and you. Autonomously.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2, Troll) by realDonaldTrump on Monday February 04 2019, @07:23AM
They call this one Terra. I don't like the sound of that. How do you take out the family of a Robot? And possibly it's taking out YOUR family. As you say. As you say. Not good!
(Score: 3, Funny) by BsAtHome on Monday February 04 2019, @07:24AM
I always dream of red grass. Robotics, a dream come true.
(don't forget to zap the birds in the process)
(Score: 2) by driverless on Monday February 04 2019, @11:19AM (2 children)
Haven't these things been around for ages? My cousin has had one doing his lawn for some time now. It does a good enough job, but like a Roomba is somewhat underpowered, so relies on frequent cutting to keep things manageable. And despite jokes about taking out pets and whatnot, it does a pretty good job, it's really just an outdoors Roomba.
Oh, right, there really are lots of them [google.com] out there.
(Score: 2) by Nuke on Monday February 04 2019, @01:02PM (1 child)
They have been around for ages. There are problems : either they rely on guide wires everywhere under your lawn, or they criss-cross at random and probably miss patches. It looks like this one's navigation is better but I think I'll wait and see first.
(Score: 2) by driverless on Monday February 04 2019, @01:19PM
The one my cousin had certainly didn't use guide wires, and also didn't do a random walk. It really was just a Roomba with blades.
Before anyone asks, I can't remember the brand, sorry, and I couldn't see what it was either, it was well-covered with a long accumulation of grass clippings and gunk.
(Score: 0, Troll) by fakefuck39 on Monday February 04 2019, @01:53PM (6 children)
Hey, offtopic question for you, for when you wake up at noon, you dirty fucking hippie. I hate it that when we donate to soylent, the tax man and the bank get a cut, because fuck them and fuck you. People like me don't want 5 minutes of their hard-earned work to support the corporate tyrant government looking to oppress the worker. Aah yeah, did I mention I'm very successful and better than you on your aluminum boat? Fuck, wrong editor.
I've done shit like sending an amazon gift card to you guys before, but I understand you can't really spend that on hosting costs - unless you guys need some new hardware? I'm open to suggestions here.
double off-topic. I finally found where to look up user karma. I didn't see it because I'm too smart. I just had that box blocked with adblock to save screen space. Please don't fuck with my negative karma dude. It's not a negative thing to not be able to post a lot - keeps me from wasting time. If I wanted special treatment I'd buy subscriptions for myself instead of gifting them to the editors.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Monday February 04 2019, @02:59PM
You've been good at getting your karma to plunge very quickly. I don't expect any problems.
I'm also not a fan of banks and middlemen getting a cut of donations. I don't know that we have any good alternatives available but I will ask.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Monday February 04 2019, @03:14PM (4 children)
Hey, I'm not an editor at all. They do way more work than I do.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 0, Troll) by fakefuck39 on Monday February 04 2019, @07:45PM (3 children)
You're one of the dirty commie hippies who run this site - you're all the same to me. Don't no one care what you do. You don't have a career with a big corporation, so you are a hippie and a loser. Enjoy your boat and trim those pubes once in a while. It's disgusting when your beard blends in with your pubes, with pieces of fish scale stuck in there. How do you expect to get a job smelling like that, you smelly hippie?!!
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday February 05 2019, @04:24AM (2 children)
I do fine, thanks. I mean I own a boat and can afford to go fishing pretty much whenever I feel like it, so I have no complaints. I pity you your beard envy though. It's sad when a man can't do the things that are supposed to come free with every Y chromosome.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 0) by fakefuck39 on Tuesday February 05 2019, @06:08AM (1 child)
Oh, I can grow a real man's fucking beard fuckass. Just not a "40 year old-taking-propecia-because-I-started-getting-a-bald-spot" man's beard. It takes a nice full month, and it's a full fucking inch. Is that enough manhood for you? Cause I got another 6.5 for ya if it's not. Also it has spots where it doesn't come in - a real man's spots. You wouldn't know. If I give it another 2 weeks they're hidden. So any time you wanna compare who's a man's man with me - I'm ready to go loser. Just give me about 7 weeks heads-up and I'll fucking be there.
Fuck, you know, I can't. I can't show up to my important corporate job looking like you. I'm not happy in life with fish and a boat, unless it's a really big fish, and a really big boat, with a pool and shit, and another little boat on the boat.
My brother is a hairy beast at 25 though. I personally love being 40 and have 2 hairs on my chest. Why are they around the nipple? Because I'm a real fucking man - that's why.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday February 05 2019, @05:53PM
That was some quality ranting there. Good job. Sincerely.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by nobu_the_bard on Monday February 04 2019, @08:12PM (1 child)
I'd take it if it means never having to mow the grass again.
I wrote five paragraphs I have wisely deleted ranting about how much I hate mowing, when I could simply say I really hate mowing the grass. It is boring, tedious and serves no unique purpose.
(Score: 1) by anubi on Tuesday February 05 2019, @03:45AM
You now the grass for your neighbors.
And at an inappropriate time as revenge for an Ill timed party.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
(Score: 2) by Kalas on Monday February 04 2019, @07:07AM (5 children)
What kind of person looks at a Roomba and thinks "it's a start but this baby needs some blades?" I know many of you fear the robopocaplyse is inevitable but is humanity really so bad you need to speed things along?
(Score: 2) by BsAtHome on Monday February 04 2019, @07:28AM
Curiosity killed the cat.
Every idea will be tried to come true at some point in time by someone, somewhere, somehow. Let there be Darwin awards in the process.
(Score: 2) by MostCynical on Monday February 04 2019, @08:04AM
just an upmarket version of this [youtube.com]
and don't forget killer drones [youtube.com]
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 2) by pkrasimirov on Monday February 04 2019, @11:45AM
Doomba [weknowmemes.com].
(Score: 2) by Username on Monday February 04 2019, @01:07PM
And a freaking laser.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 04 2019, @07:55PM
Good idea! can I get a Roomba for my beard?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 04 2019, @10:28AM
I needed something better to cut my Chongs Choice grass. Those cheap grass grinders on Amazon are too small for my arthritic hands to twist, and the stems keep clogging it up.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Monday February 04 2019, @11:29AM (3 children)
While I generally enjoy lawn maintenance, Tennessee summers are no fucking joke. An ice cold domestic pisswater beer after an hour or so of sweating behind a mower is one of the few legitimate reasons for Budweiser to keep making beer. Unfortunately, when it's 90+F and 70+% humidity, you've either taken an air conditioned break already or keeled over dead before you get to enjoy your beverage. So, I dislike the need for this particular robot but if I weren't moving into a place with a much smaller yard before the summer I'd probably be getting one.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 04 2019, @01:28PM (2 children)
is it an option to let it grow, and only cut a minimal area (walking/parking needs or whatever)?
then at the end of summer you call a local cow-owner and they'll take your grass.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Monday February 04 2019, @03:18PM (1 child)
Nah. I'm slightly OCD about my lawn not looking like shit and even if I weren't the city-run utility company will come around, mow it, and tack it onto your utility bill if you let it get six inches tall. I can't get myself to work up a good libertarian rant about that though on account of it means even the ghetto houses that need bulldozed on account of they ain't safe to live in have nice looking lawns.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 1) by anubi on Tuesday February 05 2019, @03:48AM
Get a goat.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
(Score: 3, Interesting) by lentilla on Monday February 04 2019, @12:10PM (2 children)
To a large degree I enjoy mowing the lawn.
What I don't enjoy is emptying the grass catcher, which; in summer; needs to be done maybe twenty times during a single mowing session.
Unless the robot mower is able to "dump" the clippings in a corner it's a non-starter. It's not that a robot wouldn't be able to dump the clippings, it's just that doing so wouldn't fit the narrative of "sit in your deck chair with a gin-and-tonic whilst the robot does your lawns", so the marketing department won't let this happen. They will fit it out with a tiny hopper and the advertising will show a happy couple sitting in deck chairs and a picture of someone emptying a half-full hopper of clippings into a garbage bin, ("easy clean up!") all whilst wearing chinos and a white dress shirt.
(Score: 2) by Username on Monday February 04 2019, @01:04PM
You can have it run daily, no need to collect clippings.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 04 2019, @03:44PM
It probably doesn't collect clippings because it doesn't have any legs to protect. Tractor-style mowers don't either for the same reason. Your grass will be healthier if you don't anyway. It's better not to run it everyday though - grass roots only grow proportionally to the stem so you you have to let them get taller or they'll die from "overgrazing".