Husqvarna Automower Sends TXTs For Help
Writing by Evan Ackerman on Monday, 27 of April , 2009 at 3:53 am
Husqvarna, who we checked out at CES in January, has just released a new version of their robotic Automower system that includes an embedded text messaging service that the robot can use to let you know that it needs assistance. The mower will text you whenever it “gets disturbed,” which I guess means it’ll yell for help if it gets stuck on something or accidentally spots your neighbor doing nude yoga.
The Automower 260 ACX is bigger and faster than previous versions and is designed for people with lawns of up to about an acre and a half (that’s like having a football field out behind your house). You’ll need to stake out a perimeter wire around the whole swath, which the mower will cover in a pattern of hour of mowing followed by 40 minutes of charging. Husqvarna helpfully points out that mowing a lawn that size eats up about 120 hours of time, but I’m not sure that that that justifies the $5200 pricetag, especially if you have kids (yours or someone else’s, doesn’t matter) to do the grunt work for you. But there are other benefits, too: studies have shown that the Automower “scares off moles, Spanish slugs and other lawn predators, if you let it work at night.” No word on those damn kids, though.
[ Press Release ] VIA [ Engadget ]
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Category: Consumer
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