| You’re standing in your front yard minding | | | | The tilt detection devices are soldered on to the main |
| your own business when a robot with three razor | | | | boards. Even the resistance against the blades and the |
| sharp blades spinning at 5,800 rpm starts racing | | | | ability of the software to stop them is measured in |
| toward you. What do you do? | | | | thousandths of seconds. |
| Is this some kind of nightmare? No, you’re | | | | Since these robotic lawn mowers are designed to |
| awake and this is really happening, so once again, | | | | mulch there is no easy outlet for flying debris. Pebbles |
| what do you do? | | | | and pine cones do not get tossed very far and at low |
| The answer is nothing. It will just bounce off you and | | | | velocity. |
| go another direction. Rather anti-climatic ending | | | | Some robotic lawn mowers have sonar detection |
| wasn’t it? That is just the way the robotic | | | | systems that if any moving objects get close |
| lawn mower companies want it to be. | | | | they’ll slow down and at another point stop |
| The greatest concern most people have about | | | | the blade before even being touched. All have some |
| robotic lawn mowers is safety. ‘Bots with | | | | sort of touch sensors that when they lightly bump into |
| Blades’ just can’t be safe. | | | | a stationary object that they change direction. So |
| According to Ames Tiedeman, National Sales Manager | | | | actually getting run over is unlikely. |
| for Systems Trading Corp., the US distributor for the | | | | Another big concern is pets getting chopped to bits, |
| Friendly Robotics Robomower, over 72,000 | | | | again, no reported accidents involving robotic lawn |
| emergency room visits involved lawn mowers in 2005. | | | | mowers. Dogs have a tendency to chase and bark, |
| ZERO involved robotic lawn mowers. | | | | but not attack. A dog actually chewing up a robotic |
| These mowers have so many safety features and | | | | lawn mower is more feasible than a robotic lawn |
| shut-off triggers that it is amazing that they are | | | | mower chewing up a dog. |
| actually functional. | | | | Robotic lawn mowers move relatively slow, people |
| The Friendly Robotics Robomower turns the blades | | | | and animals can easily move out of the way. Although |
| off at 16 degrees, not even high enough to get a hand | | | | it takes a lot longer to mow, if everyone used them |
| under. Even if a small hand could get under, the blades | | | | there would be 72,000 fewer hospital visits this year. |
| are far back and recessed into a chamber in the body. | | | | This article was written to educate people that robotic |
| It would take creativity, not stupidity, to get to the | | | | mowers under intended circumstances are safe. |
| blades while they are still turning. | | | | There has been a great deal of thought and |
| Unlike push and riding lawn mower safety devices, | | | | engineering involved to make robotic lawn mowers |
| robotic lawn mower features are not easily disabled. | | | | safe for public use. |