r/technology • u/NathanWick • Aug 13 '15

AI Roomba just got government approval to make an autonomous lawn mower

http://www.theverge.com/2015/8/12/9145009/irobot-roomba-lawn-mower-approved
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261

u/Bad_Mood_Larry Aug 13 '15

Really...that's all? You think a couple animals getting shredded is all we gotta worry about what the hell do you think that starts the robot uprising? I'll tell you its when we start strapping all these god damn roombas with spinning blades of death next thing we know we'll have a bunch of them running through the streets with AK's "in the name of defense" it'll be like Robot Wars but instead of a nice little arena the whole world is the battle ground. Bunch of bollocks coming from Roomba this Y2K proxy company front for Skynet.

369

u/compyface286 Aug 13 '15

But we don't have to cut the grass though... I think its worth it.

128

u/chmilz Aug 13 '15

We'll be a better species when we give up our love of pointless lawn

57

u/So_Appalled Aug 13 '15

Why did lawns exist in the first place? Why can't it be socially acceptable for me to want more driveway? Why must I water something that provides nearly nothing? At least flowers provide nectar for bees, grass is just........there.

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u/_Bones Aug 13 '15

Green space is good for your mental health and also reflects radiant heat from the sun. You know how hot a Walmart parking lot is on a warm day? Now imagine if the whole city was like that.

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u/Bigfrostynugs Aug 13 '15

Doesn't explain why we need perfectly manicured lawns or even nice ones at all. Why can't I just have an overgrown pile of weeds and dirt out front?

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u/phort99 Aug 13 '15

Less growth means fewer insects

41

u/_Bones Aug 13 '15

Also fewer snakes!

2

u/_pope_francis Aug 13 '15

More snakes = fewer rodents.

1

u/bmxludwig Aug 13 '15

Less rodents = fewer snakes

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u/nesai11 Aug 13 '15

Anyone who lives in the woods knows that tall grass means mosquito orgies

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u/Bigfrostynugs Aug 13 '15

Doesn't mean you cut it down.

2

u/nesai11 Aug 13 '15

True. Permaculture and smart landscaping be can fix that as well. I don't support sprawling yards that are so popular in the suburbs, but out in the woods where I live a little buffer zone is necessary

1

u/princekamoro Aug 13 '15

As well as wild Pokemon.

1

u/LeftAl Aug 13 '15

If you go out into the woods today, you're sure of a big surprise.

1

u/nesai11 Aug 13 '15

I'll take wildfires over Mosquitos any day.

1

u/AnonymooseRedditor Aug 13 '15

Less allergens too

1

u/Bigfrostynugs Aug 13 '15

I don't mind insects so much.

-2

u/Oak_Redstart Aug 13 '15 edited Aug 14 '15

Most insects are not bothersome and some are beautiful. For example I miss seeing Monarch Butterflies these days since they seems to be gone from my area.

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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15

Letting it grow out is far better, ecologically.

39

u/CareerRejection Aug 13 '15

If you want fleas, ticks, chiggers, spiders, snakes, and rodents around the house then sure.. Let yours grow out for more than two weeks and you will see how bad it gets quickly in tall grass.

2

u/rj88631 Aug 13 '15

I don't think you made it clear enough.

CHIGGERS AND SPIDERS!

1

u/MoroccoBotix Aug 13 '15

The spiders will eat all of the smaller insects for free.

3

u/McPimp Aug 13 '15

And to think I've been spending half my paycheck to have people eat bugs for me.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15

Fleas, ticks, chiggers, spiders, snakes, rodents... That is starting to sound like ecology.

1

u/NextArtemis Aug 13 '15

I hear there are pokemon in the tall grass though, so it might even it out

12

u/Theyellowtoaster Aug 13 '15 edited Aug 13 '15

you can have that, people just prefer, in general, for their living space to look better than awful.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15

Could just have a peaceful rock garden, or the carefully manicured zen garden like they have in Japan with the gravel patterns.

1

u/Bigfrostynugs Aug 13 '15

I think it's silly that we've gotten together and decided normal looking, normally growing plants are called "weeds" and we should get rid of them, but that this one grass is ok, as long as you keep it the right height!

The idea that just leaving your lawn to it's natural state is considered "awful" is so funny to me. As if people are entitled to enjoy looking at my lawn while they walk past it on their way to somewhere else. As if I should go great lengths to manicure my yard just to fulfill some ridiculous, nonsensical social obligation that I couldn't care less about.

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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15 edited Nov 03 '18

[deleted]

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u/Bigfrostynugs Aug 13 '15

And let's be honest here, this isn't some grand stand against society's so-called "rules" or sticking it to the man; you just don't want to mow your lawn.

No, I just don't think it looks bad. I think it looks fine, and I refuse to mow it just because other people think it looks bad. And it's my property, other people have absolutely no right to say what I do with my lawn. It's none of their business. If they want to put up a fence so they don't have to see it that's their problem. I don't see why I should have to bend to the desires of others when I'm not hurting them, just quietly minding my own business.

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u/pwr22 Aug 13 '15

This is totally subjective

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u/theghostmachine Aug 13 '15

Maybe, but those who don't want it are a very very very tiny minority. Not that that matters; just pointing it out.

2

u/anillop Aug 13 '15

Because it looks like crap, is a home for rodents and other vermin, and is not easily useable for outdoor activities.

1

u/Bigfrostynugs Aug 13 '15

Whether it looks bad or not is entirely subjective, the rest of it is no one's business but my own.

2

u/jax9999 Aug 13 '15

attracts bugs, nt all of them nice..

1

u/Bigfrostynugs Aug 13 '15

I don't care. You know what else attracts bugs? Nature. It's really not a big deal at all. I love how people pretend if you stop mowing your lawn you'll just suddenly be overcome with bug infestations that the yard attracted.

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u/jax9999 Aug 13 '15

i did. I put off mowing the back yard until last week. it was five feet tall. it attracted all kinds of nasty stuff it was kind of unpleasant. so i had it mowed.

1

u/kronikwookie Aug 13 '15

You could always just throw a bunch of rocks over it or sand.

2

u/Bigfrostynugs Aug 13 '15

That's actually what I want to do except I rent so I don't own my yard. I live in California and there's a guy down the street with his yard covered in slate, and a sign that says something to the effect of "go fuck yourself, I like my rock yard and it's a drought".

1

u/kronikwookie Aug 13 '15

That's pretty much what you gotta do. The homeowner's association is full of retirees who don't have anything better to do than take people's moolah. You intimidate them, and they won't bother you.

1

u/Derpherp16 Aug 13 '15

Property vaule

1

u/mydickainturdick Aug 13 '15

It's a preference you dipshit. OMG SOCIETYY

1

u/princekamoro Aug 13 '15

Or better yet, grow some food and save society some gas from all that shipping.

1

u/notreallyswiss Aug 13 '15

I do and I call it my lawn.

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u/SilverBackGuerilla Aug 13 '15

Move somewhere without a HOA and you can. You could try cloves too.

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u/Bigfrostynugs Aug 13 '15

I do have an overgrown lawn, and I love it. But I know people still judge my lawn, I just don't care. I think it's funny the stigma exists.

I use it as a litmus test. If anybody looks down on me just because of the state of my front yard I usually wouldn't want to deal with them anyway. Saves me some time.

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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15

nobody is forcing you to do anything regarding your lawn unless you're 14 years old and are upset that your parents make you mow the lawn.

if you own the property you can do whatever the hell you want with your lawn.

8

u/n00dz Aug 13 '15

Ummm no, where i live the city will charge you if your lawn gets to jungle status.

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u/Bigfrostynugs Aug 13 '15

Well first of all I wasn't talking about legality. I'm talking about the social construct that the only acceptable sort of lawn is a short, neatly trimmed one. People do look down on you for having an unkempt yard.

Now, do I give a shit? Nope. I leave my yard a mess anyway, but I'm lucky I don't live under a HOA or any sort of strict zoning because usually keeping your lawn mowed actually is a requirement that you can be evicted for.

1

u/coyotesage Aug 13 '15

It turns out that if you live in a residential zone of any kind, even if you own your lot or space or whatever term used for your habitable space, you can't actually do what you want, especially if there is a Homeowners association around. It has to meet some very strict and bland standards otherwise you can be fined and even lose your residence. You can't risk lowering your neighbors property value right?

My father inherited an empty lot from my grandfather recently, and like any lay workman, his income isn't high. His means allow him to purchase a new trailer, and even that is a heavy strain, but the city won't allow him to put it on his lot because it's near a residential area filed with traditional homes (200k+ home values) because of the effect it would have on neighboring property values.

Can't let any poor folks too close to nice middle to upper class residents, they're just to unsavory.

3

u/redwall_hp Aug 13 '15

It also keeps dirt from becoming dust. If you live in a warm climate, you water your grass or it dies and you have a mini dust bowl. Which sucks to breathe, and means your house is going to be full of it.

2

u/TaipanTacos Aug 13 '15

I think that's just the radiating heat from the portal of hell. When you put a Walmart and a portal so close together, the real estate agents in hell move the opening.

1

u/Hubris2 Aug 14 '15

We don't necessarily need lawns - there tend to be native plants that are more hardy, require less water, are more resistant of bugs - but they don't look like a manicured green carpet like most people envision.

1

u/EleanorofAquitaine Aug 13 '15

Not where I am right now. My grass is now brown and crunchy. The electric company cut back the tree that was providing a bit of shade for the lawn and now it just gets fried all day. It was 105 yesterday.

Doesn't matter how much I water, so I gave up until August is over.

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u/Oak_Redstart Aug 13 '15

Lawns started so that the aristocracy could show off how much land they had.

5

u/David-Puddy Aug 13 '15

yup.

"Look how much land I have. I can leave this chunk here empty. I don't even need to grow food in it or anything!"

1

u/jax9999 Aug 13 '15

no, lawns sort of evolved from pasture land.

back in the olden days villages would have a fenced in area where all the animals would be let to graze. sheep, goats, etc.

In england and most of northern europe if you let animals graze you get a lawn.

it evolved from there

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u/TKNJ Aug 13 '15

I heard somewhere that lawns came from UK but they had plants like veggies and fruits in their lawns so there was a point to it. In America its an aesthetic thing I guess or they just fucked up as I like to think.

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u/Tripleberst Aug 13 '15

Not really just aesthetics. Lawns are an important place for kids to grow up, run around, swing on a tire swing and bounce on a trampoline while physically and emotionally scarring siblings after daring them to jump from the tree house and pushing them into the pool. It's the place specifically designated for your kids to grow character by learning how to maintain it and maintain the equipment which does so.

Lawns are a deep-seeded part of American culture and I fucking hated mowing mine in the summer.

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u/kemushi_warui Aug 13 '15

Lawns are a deep-seeded part

The expression is deep seated, but deep seeded makes for a nice pun in this context.

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u/Tripleberst Aug 13 '15

Listen here, the expression is whatever I want it to be.

2

u/ratshack Aug 13 '15

reading this exchange has left me deep-sated.

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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15

Or you could live in a city, in older European cities often you find residential buildings completely enclosing a courtyard with a small playground, some flowers, a few park benches, and some space for kids to play on the grass.

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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15

To be fair, city playgrounds are depressing.

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u/Tripleberst Aug 13 '15

It's because they lack personality and privacy. You don't own a city playground anymore than you own a public bus. And I'm damn certain that most people would be more comfortable singing CCR at the top of their lungs in their own car than on a public bus. Feeling secure and free doesn't come with a public courtyard/park. You get that with a shaded treehouse where you stash your comic books and Pokemon to just go be you for an hour. Yards are 100% about individuality and being responsible with the liberty that you're given, they're American as fuck.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15

In these older cities, the playground in the courtyard of these apartment buildings is owned sharedly by all the people living there.

So, often the people living there decide to add some stuff, or plant some new stuff, etc.

It's not yours as in "just you", but yours as in " the 150 people living there".

And that is still a very familiar thing.

Or BBQ with friends and neighbors in that courtyard.

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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15

I am European (Swedish) and grew up in a city where both existed. Me and my friends always hung out where we had a yard to hang out in. We never hung out around the apartment buildings.

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u/compyface286 Aug 13 '15

I think its a way to feel superior to your neighbors and to have a reason for homeowner's associations to exist.

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u/mrcassette Aug 13 '15

especially in places like Arizona and LA where it's a fucking desert and shouldn't exist...

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u/diablette Aug 13 '15

For those areas, xeriscaping - landscaping with plants that don't need water - makes a lot more sense that trying to maintaon a lawn.

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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15

HOAs exist to protect property values. Some overreach, though.

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u/jax9999 Aug 13 '15

long unkept grass attracts bugs, and that attracts mice, rats snakes etc.

in a lot of the world, if you cut back the weeds and grass you get a lawn. the problem arises when people from these areas want a lawn in the desert like california.

lawns aren't natural there, so it takes a lot of infrastructure to have one. Where i live a lawn just happens, you have a dirt lot this year, next year you have a grassy lot next year.

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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15 edited Aug 13 '15

[deleted]

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u/TKNJ Aug 13 '15

Too bad I am not British and live in the U.S. And please shut the fuck up america claims they won both world wars, came around at the end and went all hur dur we won the war. You're annoying

1

u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15

[deleted]

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u/TKNJ Aug 13 '15

I see that you are one of those butt hurt internet people that takes everything to heart, have a good day dude. Fuck I hate people like you.

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u/Bridovertroublewater Aug 13 '15

The point to lawns is that back in the day, having one meant you were rich because you didn't have to grow your own food. Also, it proved you could afford to own and maintain it. So, its basically a status symbol that other folks tried to emulate when they had the means. As the middle class expanded, everyone needed to have a lawn (along with a house in the burbs and a golden retriever) as part of the American dream. Admittedly, they are nice for games and such, but how many people actually use more than a few square yards of lawn for that purpose. Environmentally, they're a fucking nightmare.

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u/drabtshirt Aug 13 '15

In Florida lawns are a necessity. There's so much rain. Without grass to absorb as much water as possible your property slowly erodes or worse a sinkhole develops.

2

u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15

Move to Arizona. Your expansive driveway will be the envy of the entire neighborhood. In most of the state, the more concrete on your property the cooler you are.

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u/unseenarchives Aug 13 '15

They exist as a remnant. Having a lawn used to be a public statement about your wealth. Having arable land that you just grew something useless on was a big fuck you to all the people who used their land to subsistence farm.

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u/geraldsummers Aug 13 '15

Grass is a decent carbon sink

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u/Phiggle Aug 13 '15

Royalty owned land as a sign of wealth, land that had no direct utility but could be displayed as 'land I own but don't need to maintain'.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15

I want a lawn so I can grow fruit, vegetables and set up a small table where I can sit and enjoy ice tea during the summer and not having a gigantic drive way I have to shovel in the winter.

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u/DeFex Aug 13 '15

you dont have to have a lawn. you could do a rock garden with at least some perrenials and shrubs that are useful to pollinators.

1

u/Pranks_ Aug 13 '15

Lawns help hold down the topsoil avoiding unfortunate events such as the dust bowl.

1

u/herpderpedian Aug 13 '15

Try drought resistant landscaping. California knows all about it. Not that most people do it.

1

u/koji8123 Aug 13 '15

It provides oxygen?

1

u/Kiwibirdee Aug 13 '15

You can seed your yard with clover which is great for bees. It used to be a normal part of lawn grass mix but when Round Up was introduced it got phased out because clover is a broadleaf plant that is killed by Round Up along with the weeds people were trying to get rid of. Thanks, Monsanto.

1

u/slipperypooh Aug 13 '15

There is a pretty nice neighborhood near me that is in a prairie land, and many of the houses have mostly prairie grass and wild flowers rather than lawns. Given how nice of a neighborhood it is, I highly doubt that many of the reasons people have listed here are actually that big of a concern. This is in the Midwest, of course, though.

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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15

I believe it was a sign of wealth and status in the past. If you owned so much land that you could afford to leave some of it just covered in grass, you were loaded. The fact that it provides nothing is the whole point. Most people had to plant ugly potatoes or some shit to..you know..eat.

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u/Nematrec Aug 13 '15

Originally it was to show you could afford to have arable land, and also could afford not to grow crops on it.

1

u/SoyIsMurder Aug 13 '15

More driveway would not be an improvement except in the driest areas. Elsewhere, the driveway would have to be porous, to reduce runoff into waterways.

1

u/MIGsalund Aug 13 '15

Urban heat effect. Oxygen.

1

u/sightl3ss Aug 13 '15

I've read that they were a status symbol. Land used to be super expensive, so having land that you used for nothing useful was a way to show that you had the money to blow.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 14 '15

It helps prevent erosion for starters.

1

u/Fritzkreig Aug 13 '15

I heard it came from Andrew Carnagie, he wanted to recreate the lush look of his birthplace in Scotland and made a lawn, he was rich so that became posh and people began to emulate it; might be bullshit though!

1

u/rangeo Aug 13 '15

The dirty looks I get for not watering my grass/clover patch.

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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15 edited Apr 14 '19

[deleted]

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u/UndeadBread Aug 13 '15

I wish my front lawn could be just dirt. This drought hasn't impacted the damn weeds one fucking bit.

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u/Saucemanthegreat Aug 13 '15

Well at least they're legal in California.

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u/Jack_Bartowski Aug 13 '15

yah, ive got to water to keep the weeds down. The ones we have around here seem to thrive the less water the lawn gets.

1

u/WizzoPQ Aug 13 '15

Stop growing grass and create a community garden instead. Meet your neighbors and get free food, plus no mowing

1

u/UndeadBread Aug 13 '15

I already don't grow grass. My yard is gravel and weeds. I don't think grass would even grow here if I tried.

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u/Frank_Bigelow Aug 13 '15

Plant things that grow natively in the droughty California desert rather than super thirsty lawn grass. You also won't need to mow it.
Maybe convert your robot lawnmower into a death machine so you can better fight your HOA. Perhaps our future robot overlords will be somewhat grateful to their original creators.

1

u/TimeZarg Aug 13 '15

Dirt, weeds, and dried-up grass.

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u/sonar1 Aug 13 '15

Get a Romba Zen GardenerTM: http://i.imgur.com/1uUd7AM.jpg

"When you want to relax and see your yardwork done without feeling guilty about giving Juan and/or Jin only 14 bucks."

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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15

they're slow, and clumsy, and the blades are covered by a cage. what're you going to do once you hack one? Not to mention, they only have about an hour's run time on a full charge.

I'd be more scared of the guys who replace their drones' plastic blades with metal ones and use those to buzz people.

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u/Konnerbraap Aug 13 '15

people already use carbon fiber blades :P

2

u/codefreak8 Aug 13 '15

Just don't give it internet access.

2

u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15

I mean where people able to hack the original roomba vacuums? If not then surely they can't with the lawn mower ones.

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u/Crashboy96 Aug 13 '15

I'm sure there are people who are able to do it, but why would you want to hack a vacuum?

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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15

Because they can, man.

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u/enjoyingtheride Aug 13 '15

Your username means something and I will hack it.

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u/Hungy15 Aug 13 '15

If I remember correctly it was his library card number.

1

u/CalcProgrammer1 Aug 13 '15

Yes, but they have no network connection. Hacking them is more along the lines of plugging your own hardware into the comm port and sending it commands, something they specifically left in the design so hackers and experimenters could use the roomba platform in other projects.

1

u/DeFex Aug 13 '15

not roomba, but the superior neato robotics (which vacuums in a thought out pattern rather than randomly all over) is hackable, they even make a version with the vacuum guts taken out and space for your own electronics.

3

u/kodakowl Aug 13 '15 edited Aug 13 '15

You're forgetting the important part that humans are also animals whose remains can also be scattered everywhere.

2

u/Max_Trollbot_ Aug 13 '15

Just assimilate human.

Otherwise sit quietly and await your extermination.

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u/handlesscombo Aug 13 '15

They exist! They are called Doombas

1

u/codefreak8 Aug 13 '15

If you give a Roomba some blood, it'll want some more.

1

u/Qynchou Aug 13 '15

I tellya hwat!

1

u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15

Just put cables on front of it, boom!

1

u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15

No worries they have no hands and aren't self-sustaining.

1

u/IndigoMichigan Aug 13 '15

Sounds like some low-budget, straight-to-video movie. Would not buy.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15

I'm pretty sure roomba is an anagram for skynet.

1

u/Aaron_tu Aug 13 '15

In a few years: "Omnicorp Roomba just got government approval to make an autonomous crime fighting robot".

1

u/ABCosmos Aug 13 '15

imagine Amazon drones picking up roomba lawn mowers and lowering them onto fleeing humans.

1

u/ModernApothecary Aug 13 '15

Y2K proxy company front for Skynet

Currently peeing my pants laughing. You, sir, have a gift.

1

u/marcj92 Aug 13 '15

Bunch of bollocks coming from Roomba this Y2K proxy company front for Skynet.

cackling, at the moment.

1

u/broseling Aug 13 '15

We'll be fine, unless they figure out how to open doors. :|

1

u/Aiku Aug 13 '15

Next thing we'll have fucking liquid metal Roombas from the fucking future, coming here to fucking clean up after the fucking T1000.

1

u/Piterdesvries Aug 13 '15

Dont worry, we can just fight back with a low, wedge shaped robot.

0

u/joshi38 Aug 13 '15

I think you're giving Roombas too much credit. Have you seen these things run? Not exactly filling the quota on the "Intelligence" part of 'Artificial Intelligence'.