By David Ponce
The above is called the Bosch Indego, and is a battery-powered autonomous lawn mowing machine. And it’s got a leg or two up on its competition. Sure, you still need to put some metal wires on the perimeter of your lawn, unless you want the Indego to wander off into the distance, but it’ll handle up to 1,000 sq. meters (or roughly 10,700 sq. ft.) of lawn all on its own thereafter. The main difference is the Indego cuts in straight lines instead of in a random pattern, which makes for a much more efficient cut since it’s not constantly going over the same spots. It apparently does this by localizing itself in relation to its base so it can keep track of where it’s been. But since mowing lawn is pretty heavy duty, its cutting protocol involves 20 minutes of action, with a quick trip back to base for a 90 minute charge, and repeat. If you have a big yard, this could take a while, but it’s hands-off so you shouldn’t really care.
The Bosch Indego will go out for a slow release in Scandinavia this year, with a wider release in 2013 for about US $2,040.
[ Press Release (In Swedish) ] VIA [ Automaton ]
Sharper Image had something like this that came out maybe 10 years ago, it cost $600. Don’t know what happened to it.