Path: news.eternal-september.org!eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail
From: AMuzi <am@yellowjersey.org>
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles.tech
Subject: Re: rec tech mower
Date: Tue, 15 Apr 2025 16:58:35 -0500
Organization: Yellow Jersey, Ltd.
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On 4/15/2025 4:42 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
> On 4/15/2025 2:33 PM, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
>> On Tue, 15 Apr 2025 13:29:16 -0400, Frank Krygowski
>> <frkrygow@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>>
>>> On 4/15/2025 8:39 AM, AMuzi wrote:
>>>> On 4/14/2025 9:48 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
>>>> I'm not an expert but there were or are corded electrics 
>>>> as I knew
>>>> someone who loved his. Assuming your house is roughly 
>>>> centered on the
>>>> lot a 100ft cord would do.
>>>
>>> I know those exist, but there's no way it would work. I 
>>> just counted,
>>> and there are at least 13 "islands" of landscaping, large 
>>> trees or other
>>> obstacles I have to cut around. They'd require far too much
>>> backtracking, etc. if I were dragging a cord.
>>
>> Perhaps a robot lawn mower that goes around the trees?
>> <https://www.google.com/search? 
>> q=robotic%20lawn%20mower&udm=2>
>> <https://www.youtube.com/results? 
>> search_query=robot%20lawn%20mower>
> 
> I've been paying attention to the development of those for 
> years. There are now a couple models that don't require the 
> buried wire barrier systems (like Invisible Fences for 
> dogs), but use some local electronics that enhance GPS for 
> precise location. Supposedly one can manually steer the 
> mower around the lot and "teach" it where to mow and what to 
> avoid. They're quite pricey, though! I've got about 25,000 
> square feet to mow, and the Luba brand capable of that is 
> about $3000. That would get me a lot of teenager hours, if I 
> can recruit a new one. Also, its level of technology makes 
> me worry about long term reliability.
> 
> I had a thought about a simpler alternative that would 
> require far less technology. I'm not a guy that wants 
> beautiful lawn stripes, so I usually mow by cutting the 
> perimeter clockwise, then working my way inward, always 
> straddling the boundary between "that's cut" and "that's not 
> cut." Seems that a self propelled mower should be able to do 
> most of that on its own, if it could reliably tell the 
> difference between "cut" and "not yet cut." The "steering" 
> logic seems pretty simple, based on separate drives for the 
> left wheel and right wheel (or perhaps, left and right "tank 
> tracks" to handle lawn lumps and holes).
> 
> But I haven't been able to dream up a sensor system, 
> especially because in dry times, there will be patches that 
> are very non-uniform height. (My lawn is a diverse 
> ecosystem, the farthest thing from a putting green.) Machine 
> vision could probably do it, but that's very complex.
> 


I bricked in my front yard at a house I owned. Very happy 
with that over the years,  and no mowing.

-- 
Andrew Muzi
am@yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971