Not everyone is happy about doing the chores, and fortunately that’s where robotic appliances and assistants can come in. If you’re not a fan of actually needing to do something, a gadget can probably do it for you. Mostly, anyway.
Robotic vacuums and mops are the obvious logic, but you can also extend that to the backyard with robotic mowers, though not every backyard will play nicely. Sticks and branches can get in the way, and sometimes mowers just won’t know what to do.
Much like when random clothes or toys are stuck in the path of a robotic vacuum, there has to be something factored in to help that robot deal with the situation. It’s an area where an arm might be able to help.
That was exactly the solution used for robotic vacuum cleaners when arm-equipped models started turning up last year, and now it seems like it’s time for robotic lawnmowers to see the same sort of concept applied there, too.
Mova seems like it might be the first (though it probably won’t be the last), using the mid-year consumer tech show in Germany that is IFA to show off what’s to come with just that: a robotic lawnmower with a complex arm.
The idea will be found in the top of the line model, the AstraX, a robotic lawnmower that supports tools and interchangeable hands (or heads, given it’s a tool). That means it can remove obstacles like sticks, but can also be used to water the garden or even pick fruit.
AI will help the robot work out what to do, using a camera to detect the scene and determine the next course of action, with a two-finger gripper allowing it to remove things and pick things up. It’s just one way the technology is evolving, and not the only one Mova is working on, with its Knot 80 robotic arm having even more joins, control and the ability to pick even more things up.
These concepts are probably a while away from release, and quite costly, so before they make their way out to homes, Mova has a couple of other concepts that will likely head home first. That includes variations of a robotic lawnmower, which includes “UltraTrim” technology to use a small robotic edging arm to cut and trim edges distinct from simply the lawn.
There will also be a new generation of Mova’s robotic vacuums on the way, now able to use AI vision alongside 128 pressure sensors to determine whether they have hit walls, furniture, and other aspects of your home, slowing down to keep its cleaning process safer.
Meanwhile, a robotic pool cleaner is on the way with an ultrasonic method of communication to talk to its dock, a solution given Wi-Fi doesn’t always work underwater.
Like most things announced at IFA, there’s no word as to when any of these technologies will come to Australia, or even if they will, but when that changes, you’ll find it here.
