Smart robotic technologies are designed to make lives easier, helping workers in a factory, helping the elderly get around, assisting patrons in businesses or providing social interaction.
One area of robotics that is increasing in adoption is in the home where homeowners are using the machines to do household chores out of convenience or to help those that can’t do things around the house due to age or disability. One of the growing areas of home robotics is lawnmower robots, which is expected to grow to more than $2 billion in revenue by 2022, according to market research firm Research and Markets.
In an effort to gain a foothold in this market, iRobot Corp., the maker of the venerable Roomba robotic vacuum, has introduced a robotic mower called Terra that includes navigation technology that maps lawns in order to cut in straight or back-and-forth lines.
The Terra lawnmower robot includes a wireless beacon system where consumers place wireless beacons around the yard and drive the robot once around the perimeter. After that, the robot can be scheduled to mow with users controlling over where the robot goes and where it doesn’t so it avoids mowing over areas like flower beds.
Terra works through the iRobot app where users can adjust the height of the grass and when to cut the lawn, either day or night. It can even operate in bad weather and over rough terrain.
