Robots Take To The Garden

iRobot Corp Inc. made its name by manufacturing a robot vacuum called Roomba which automated a tedious chore for thousands of households.

, using robotics to design a self-driving lawn mower that trims a user's lawn without requiring any type of supervision. The device represents the growing popularity of automated technology, though it may not be ready for consumer use just yet.

After almost 10 years of development, iRobot has finally entered the final stages of designing a robot lawnmower. The company is using a design which allows the machine to wirelessly map a user's lawn using stakes in the ground with beacons signaling the mower as to where the terrain ends. This differs from other automated lawnmowers on the market, as most require that homeowners install complicated, below-the-ground fences.

While the easy-to-install system that iRobot plans to use is likely to give the company a leg up against rival mowers, there are some concerns about whether or not the signals will interfere with other devices that operate on the same frequency. However, iRobot has secured the Federal Communications Commission's permission to "continue exploring the viability" of the system.

While the FCC's blessing is a win for iRobot, it doesn't appear to give the company full permission to begin marketing the lawnmowers for personal use. Instead, the wording suggests that the FCC will allow iRobot to continue testing the effects of the beacon system to ensure that it doesn't interfere with other devices.