Yeah, I think more than a few people in this thread might be misunderstanding how this would work. You don't build a robot to replace a driver. You build the vehicle to not need one in the first place. The vehicles could and will end up looking very very different to what current vehicles look like. This would probably mean that they could be designed much more in accordance with wind resistance principles, as one example, because cosiderations like "where do we put the steering wheel or the gear shift aren't even in play.
It exists, it just isn't very popular for some reason. Even has an electric charge station it automatically returns to.
Just looked it up, there are apparently many robot mowers available from many different companies with many different features. Amazing!
I thought about building a simple remote control one a couple of months ago and decided it was more trouble than I wanted right now with two teenagers in the house.
Dude, that excuse was useful for you when your kids were like 5 and 8. The usual concern with teenagers is how little time they spend around the house, no? You should be dying for a project.
I've got a year before either even sniff the driver's seat of a car with a learner's permit. I'm going to be able to milk free yard work for a while still.
I mean, I was just lying awake and brainstormed it a little, then Googled it after I got up and found the two companies selling it for $20. No harm no foul. I think it could maybe expand to the leaving kids/pets in cars thing, with a temperature sensor that raises an alarm when a dangerous temperature is reached within a limited range of movement. Not sure anyone is doing that, although it could be something sold separately. But then I wonder if selling tracking devices to the public doesn't expose oneself to substantial liability.
I would thing the value propositions are fairly different. It's hard to encourage a large capital investment if you can just pay someone else to do it for a maintenance fee.
I actually really enjoy cutting my yard. Not really, I pay a dude 80 coconuts a cut, and it's worth every effing penny.
Indeed, I was aware of them, but cannot name one brand. Probably would not be practical for me, too many steep banks, uneven ground, and just too much yard, trees, bushes. I wonder how long a charge lasts, and how long required to recharge?