The LawnBott from Kyodo America is a pretty nifty lawn mower robot; it has the unique feature of taking orders from your cell phone via Bluetooth.
(LawnBott demonstration video)
This device is rather pricey at $3,249; you can add even more to the price (just like you can with a high-end laptop) by adding more lithium-ion batteries. You can even add a Mad Max touch by accessorizing it with spiked wheels - cheap at $79.
This device takes me all the way back to 1944; in his prescient novella City, Clifford Simak describes the joys of the robotic lawn mower. Follow the link below to see a much-needed feature for robot lawn mowers.
Gramp Stevens sat in a lawn chair, watching the mower at work, feeling the warm, soft sunshine seep into his bones. The mower reached the edge of the lawn, clucked to itself like a contented hen, made a neat turn and trundled down another swath. The bag holding the clippings bulged.
(Read more about the robot lawn mower)
Read more at NY Times; thanks to Moira for the tip on the robot mower.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 5/15/2008)
Mika The Robot-Boss
'the robot-boss was busy at the lip of the new lode instructing and egging the men on to greater speed...' - David C. Cooke, 1939.
Sensitive, Soft Robot Skin
'...tinted material that had all the feel and appearance of human flesh and epidermis.' - Harl Vincent, 1934.
Finger Sensors For Robot Hands
'What strange sensitivity! What an amazing development of science was manifested in every move and act and word of this Robot!' - Ray Cummings, 1931.
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