iRobot, makers of the Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner, just received approval from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to make an automated, robotic lawn mower, according to Reuters.
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The futuristic lawn mower is said to operate through stakes in the ground that connects to the mower and a map wirelessly.
“We learn that letting this bond is contained in the attention of the general public this is because will assist iRobot to promote its robot mower without any need of requesting a considerable chance of unsafe waiting to actually authentic visitors to the broadcast spectrum”, the FCC ensued.
Other companies already build autonomous robotic lawnmowers (see video) but the iRobot innovation is to circumscribe the mowing area through radio signals rather than physical barriers.
The FCC usually prohibits the operation of “fixed outdoor infrastructure” transmitting low-power radio signal without a licence, and iRobot’s lawnmower beacons fell in that category.
One of the company’s biggest obstacles, according to Reuters, was convincing the FCC the wireless stakes used to guide the machine wouldn’t interfere with other devices using a similar frequency.
Before we get too happy about never having to mow the lawn again however, this new development merely means that iRobot can fully explore the technological options for their mower, and there is no release date in sight.
Automated grass-mowers have spread across Europe in recent years.
“The FCC’s decision will allow iRobot to continue exploring the viability of wideband, alongside other technologies, as part of a long-term product exploration effort in the lawn mowing category”, the spokesman added.
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This new technology is a big leap for iRobot after its success with Roomba.
