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Thanks for linking. I was hoping it had some kind of sea urchin-style mouth that ate up the roots of the weeds, but it's just a tiny weed wacker underneath. Sti

by cwe 7y ago

Thanks for linking. I was hoping it had some kind of sea urchin-style mouth that ate up the roots of the weeds, but it's just a tiny weed wacker underneath. Still cute

teekert 7y ago
Which means it never needs emptying and it returns the weed as nutrients immediately. It's pretty elegant in its simplicity imo. I guess scaled up a bit it could keep my lawn nicely mowed as well.
- icebraining 7y ago
  If you have $2000 burning a hole in your pocket, Husqvarna already sells a solar-powered automower.
  - cr0sh 7y ago
    $2000 would go a long way toward building your own robomower. Find a broken lawnmower in the trash for "bulk pickup" - free (getting it fixed might cost a bit of money, but in most cases, mowers get thrown away because the carb gets gunked up due to not being stored properly, or the air filter needs cleaning; ie cheap fixes). Get the base or motors/wheels from an electric wheelchair (this might cost a bit of money, but should be doable for under $200 if you look carefully). Various bits of steel, castors, bolts, etc - under $100.00 if you scrounge. RasPi Zero W, GPS/IMU, sensors, etc (ie, electronics, sans motor controller) - $100.00, maybe a bit more. Motor Controller - spend money on a good one, or money on the parts to build a good one. Probably looking at $200-500 dollars for a dual-motor controller. If you are really cheap, though, you can build a decent dual motor controller for the price of four 40 amp BOSCH relays, some wire, and one or two 40 amp DC SSRs; that'll get you a controller for well under $100.00, just don't expect great things from it. The rest is up to you. Granted, that's the hard part, which may be worth the $2k depending on your skills, time, patience, etc.
    - reaperducer 7y ago
      Building a $2,000 lawnmower from $1,600 in parts only makes sense if your time has no value. Or if you tinker for the sheer pleasure of it.
      - pavel_lishin 7y ago
        Also, if you're confident enough in your coding skills to attach the code you wrote to a motorized vehicle with sharp, rapidly spinning blades attached to it.
        jedberg 7y ago
        Yeah I'd be afraid of cutting up the neighbors cat.
        UnFleshedOne 7y ago
        A cat would either have to be dead already or your machine would have to be very fast and agile to catch it...
        brodsky 7y ago
        fortunately, some of the folks hanging out on HN are capable of building just the terrifying thing you speak of.
        pavel_lishin 7y ago
        Or the cat could be napping under what it thinks is a nice shady spot.
      - beznet 7y ago
        Exactly, you can do a lot of amazing things with less money than certain things sell for. Most people spend that premium because the time required to build X for cheaper isn't worth it in the long run. (unless, like you said, its apart of someones interest or hobby)

by cwe 7y ago

Thanks for linking. I was hoping it had some kind of sea urchin-style mouth that ate up the roots of the weeds, but it's just a tiny weed wacker underneath. Still cute

teekert 7y ago

Which means it never needs emptying and it returns the weed as nutrients immediately. It's pretty elegant in its simplicity imo. I guess scaled up a bit it could keep my lawn nicely mowed as well.

icebraining 7y ago
If you have $2000 burning a hole in your pocket, Husqvarna already sells a solar-powered automower.
- cr0sh 7y ago
  $2000 would go a long way toward building your own robomower. Find a broken lawnmower in the trash for "bulk pickup" - free (getting it fixed might cost a bit of money, but in most cases, mowers get thrown away because the carb gets gunked up due to not being stored properly, or the air filter needs cleaning; ie cheap fixes). Get the base or motors/wheels from an electric wheelchair (this might cost a bit of money, but should be doable for under $200 if you look carefully). Various bits of steel, castors, bolts, etc - under $100.00 if you scrounge. RasPi Zero W, GPS/IMU, sensors, etc (ie, electronics, sans motor controller) - $100.00, maybe a bit more. Motor Controller - spend money on a good one, or money on the parts to build a good one. Probably looking at $200-500 dollars for a dual-motor controller. If you are really cheap, though, you can build a decent dual motor controller for the price of four 40 amp BOSCH relays, some wire, and one or two 40 amp DC SSRs; that'll get you a controller for well under $100.00, just don't expect great things from it. The rest is up to you. Granted, that's the hard part, which may be worth the $2k depending on your skills, time, patience, etc.
  - reaperducer 7y ago
    Building a $2,000 lawnmower from $1,600 in parts only makes sense if your time has no value. Or if you tinker for the sheer pleasure of it.
    - pavel_lishin 7y ago
      Also, if you're confident enough in your coding skills to attach the code you wrote to a motorized vehicle with sharp, rapidly spinning blades attached to it.
      - jedberg 7y ago
        Yeah I'd be afraid of cutting up the neighbors cat.
        UnFleshedOne 7y ago
        A cat would either have to be dead already or your machine would have to be very fast and agile to catch it...
        brodsky 7y ago
        fortunately, some of the folks hanging out on HN are capable of building just the terrifying thing you speak of.
        pavel_lishin 7y ago
        Or the cat could be napping under what it thinks is a nice shady spot.
    - beznet 7y ago
      Exactly, you can do a lot of amazing things with less money than certain things sell for. Most people spend that premium because the time required to build X for cheaper isn't worth it in the long run. (unless, like you said, its apart of someones interest or hobby)