New CASMOBOT Lawnmower Controlled By a Wiimote 81
An anonymous reader writes "Researchers at the University of Southern Denmark have modified a Wiimote so that it can control an industrial lawn mower. The project is called Casmobot (Computer Assisted Slope Mowing Robot). 'The Casmobot project is about making grass cutting more efficient,' said Kjeld Jensen, a robotics researcher at the University of Southern Denmark who developed the system. It uses a standard Wiimote that communicates via Bluetooth to a computer and robotics module built into the mower. Actions of the mower are matched to tilt actions of the remote. For example, if you tilt the remote down the mower moves forwards; tilt it up, and it moves backwards, and so on. The Wiimote can be used to control the mower manually or in computer-assisted mode, where the mower uses autonomous navgiation based on RTK GPS positioning to cut larger areas."
I heard (Score:4, Funny)
It's a cut above the rest!
interestingly enough (Score:5, Funny)
mowing your lawn this way is just as exciting as your average wii game
This is a really great innovation... (Score:4, Funny)
... because my doctor advised me just the other day that I need to be getting less exercise, for the sake of my health.
Re:interestingly enough (Score:4, Funny)
Especially if you factor in the racing aspect.
Same old game (Score:5, Funny)
...just better graphics. [the-commodore-zone.com]
Re:It's an outrage (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Web-controlled robot (Score:3, Funny)
This might be safer than my plan, which is to have a round lawn with a string (like a weed whacker) that pops up from the center and buzzs around a few times. It could be automated, but having someone chase off any random animals (birds, neighbor's cat, mailman) before turning it on might be prudent.
Re:Web-controlled robot (Score:4, Funny)
I'm sure within a few hours of "mowmylawn.com" being up there will be an auto-redirect from "mowdownmybegonias.com"
Re:safety? (Score:3, Funny)
Also, I'd never want to have to explain to my neighbor how I accidentally "mowed" her cat.
A mark of good intentions: putting the inverted commas around "mowed" rather than "accidentally".
Re:Why a wiimote... (Score:1, Funny)
Here's a better video. [youtube.com]
Re:"Modified"? (Score:3, Funny)
Zelda decals. Duh.