The Makers of Roomba Just Got Approval to Make Robot Lawnmowers

Lawnmowing, the ire of life with a lawn, is about to get a lot more pleasant. Mostly because you won’t have to do it.

Regulators in the United States yesterday granted technical clearance for iRobot – the robot maker of Roomba, the autonomous vacuum cleaner – to make and sell a robotic lawnmower.

Your first thought is probably that a robot probably shouldn’t be roaming your property with a blade, but rest assured there are some limitations in place. Stakes places around the yard connect wirelessly to the mower and map out where it should – and, more importantly, shouldn’t – mow.

Earlier this year, iRobot said the inspiration didn’t just stem from making our lives increasingly more lazy. It also wants to make lawn cutting more accessible to the elderly and disabled.

“There’s a significant need for extending independent living. And if you look hard you’ll see it guiding almost everything we do,” said iRobot CEO Colin Angle.

Approval for the technology was dependent on the its ability to stay clear of interfering with antennas of other devices using the same frequency, like those of astronomers. Seriously; a main factor for the Federal Communications Commission’s decision was that the robotic lawnmower wouldn’t harm the work of telescopes.

What a world.

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