Lawns are great, but require a lot of maintenance. The most annoying bit is having to mow it every week; and no matter how expensive and big your mower is, in the end, it is a manual process.
But surely it shouldn't be so difficult to automate!
## Requirements
We are attempting to solve the problem with a roomba-like robot that is optimized for mowing rather than hoovering:
- wheel powered
- sensor enabled
- microprocessor to drive autonomous AI
- motor-enabled saw/trimmer
- battery-powered
## Prototypes
This project is in early-stage phase. At the moment we simply have several ideas and paths for experimentation and prototyping:
1. Use a wireless drill, with a trimmer/saw attached
2. Use a preexisting wireless trimmer, minus de handle
3. Use a preexisting wired trimmer, plus a 12v battery
4. Fabricate a custom sawpiece to replace the inners of a roomba (and keep the rest of the roomba)
The first prototype will use a handled hedge trimmer and a cleaning bot, in order to achieve this, the first step is to hack the security button of the hedge trimmer to keep it on all the time.
Fortunatelly, the hedge trimmer comes with an extension handle jack connector, so we can use this instead of hacking the security button of the trimmer. First step is to find a compatible connector that fits.
Then add a toggle switch button to keep it always on.After soldering the two pieces together, and a bit of glue, we're done !The next step will be to attach the hedge trimmer to the cleaning bot !!
Who doesn't need one of these!? Good project.