Lawnbott Chronicles: The warranty ROCKS, thankfully.

Herman's Warranty:
Overall 2 year warranty and any parts replaced under warranty get a 1 year extended warranty.

This is a great warranty and I will tell you why. Herman is wearing out a wheel motor every three to six months and I was worried that sooner or later I would have to purchase these motors myself (around $150 each).

It's a downer that the parts wear out that quickly, but I am pushing this model to its limit. One square acre is a large yard even with an extra battery. Add in frequent weekends out of town and it can take Herman a while to catch up, if he does. During summer weeds grow fast in the low country and the fat septic system grass gets too thick even for my riding mower, but Herman tries. It only gets worse when he starts to limp and beep because his motor doesn't work. Every other time of the year Herman keeps the yard looking great without water or fertilizer.

Just so I don't spend the post putting KA Robotics down, I want to give Vishal credit for always being friendly and helpful when I call for support. The only time I ever paid for any parts is when I thought the motor failure was my fault. An autopsy later on proved otherwise and Vishal sent me a replacement right away. I kept the spare motor so Herman can attack nature with less down time. I imagine these motors would last for years on a quarter acre lot.

Just to re-cap:
1. I still recommend Lawnbott to anyone who asks, but I know my mileage varies.
2. Pushing any machine to the limit reduces life expectancy.
3. The Lawnbott is very easy to work on and replacing parts is easy.
4. KA Robotics stands behind their products, even if their product is owned by an abusive slave driver like me...

Lawnbott Chronicles: Herman, Slayer of Trees

A couple months ago, my wife and her father planted a willow tree in the front yard. They bought a sapling about six feet tall and lovingly placed him in a low spot where he would be able to soak up the sogginess that is our front yard.

A couple weeks ago, the tree was looking pretty sad. The wind had bent the trunk so the upper part was parallel to the ground and we thought we would have to stake the trunk to keep it from falling over.

Last week, the willow tree righted itself and finally started looking healthy. The trunk was straight(er) and we praised the tree for standing it's ground.

Also last week, I put Herman back out in the yard after his winter break. All was well until...



Apparently, Herman strolled up to the tree, popped his front wheels off the ground, and eviscerated the trunk with 3200 rpm of "I just came out of hibernation and I'm hungry" FURY! While I find the idea of owning a robot that topples trees exciting, my wife was very upset. We got a new sapling that same day, but this time we barricaded the area for protection...



My wife now takes great joy in laughing at Herman when he fails to eat her tree.

We're going to take the old stump and plant it in the back yard (another soggy spot) and give him a chance to show off that fighting spirit yet again.

Lawnbott Chronicles: Moisture is the essence of motor failure...

Herman is sitting in the garage right now waiting for a new wheel motor. Ever since Herman went swimming corrosion has been a problem. One wheel motor went out about a month ago and I replaced it (at $250.00) only to have the other wheel motor fail last week. I'm thinking that I need to completely disassemble Herman and clean his circuits before the corrosion destroys anything else.

On the up side, our grass doesn't seem to be growing nearly as fast as it was in the middle of summer, so Herman's vacation won't trigger the kind of uprising I've seen in the past.

I also just realized that I never mentioned the flood. Our neighborhood got partially flooded over the summer. While the water didn't make it into the house, I was able to watch a tennis ball float (not roll) from one end of our driveway all the way to the street. Very surreal...

Roomba Chronicles: Herman's Lovechild, Exposed!!!

Remember that steamy encounter Herman had with that rug? Apparently there was an offspring that came home looking for Daddy...

Behold, I bring you Roomhilda!


This wonderful robot lovechild vacuums our floors and shuttles the cats around the house like a mini roman chariot.

On a side note, this thing rocks for multi-tasking. Earlier today, Lindsay was able to mow the lawn, vacuum the floors, and cook lunch AT THE SAME TIME! This is not a lie! Offloading household tasks to robots is GENIUS! In fact, I'm eyeing a device right now that will wipe my butt for me. I'm slowly making my way to freedom through robot enslavement. Wish me luck.

Lawnbott Chronicles: I think we'll keep him

Things are going well with Herman. He successfully keeps the grass cut and I have had few problems with him compared to a traditional riding lawnmower. I haven't seen any noticeable increase on my electric bill (but I'm not paying strict attention to it).

So far, here are the problems I have had:

Bad Motor - KA Robotics customer support sent me a replacement motor immediately and I had no problems replacing it without a screwdriver and an allen wrench. KA even sent someone to the house to pick up the old parts.

Getting Stuck - This was a substantial portion of the problems in the first month of robot slave ownership. I wasn't sure what constituted a trap for Herman, but I learned what quickly what caused him the most problems: ants and tree bases. The latter is easy to fix: flatten the base of the tree or wire around them. The ant hills are a bit trickier. The soil around my house is more appropriately described as a beach with grass on top. There is no top soil here, just sand. That means that when the ants make a mound, it's really just an unimaginative sand castle. As Herman runs over the hill day after day, the tunnels collapse and eventually form a sandy hole that no mortal Lawnbott can escape. The only solution is death for the ants. All of them.
Un-sticking Herman has gone from a once a day or more thing to a once every couple days. Over time, this too will decline as I hone my robot Feng Shui...

Paranoia - A Lawnbott is like a really expensive 22lb R/C car. It has a handle, making it easy for me to pick up, or easy for a thief to chuck in the bed of his truck. I've put him on my home owner's insurance specifically for this reason. I want his theft covered.

Path of Destruction effect - Herman is a machine. Pure and simple. He has a job to do and does not stop for things that are ... not grass. That includes: stray trash, the perimeter wire, rugs, etc. Unless the object is over 4 inches tall, it's getting beaten with a 3200 rpm metal plate. The kids in my house will grow up knowing that anything left in the yard is as good as gone.


Now that I've told you the bad, here is the good:

No Human Labor - I don't have to take time out of my weekend (read: free time) and battle the weather or Empirial X-gnats for the right to keep my lawn from becoming a jungle. Yeah, I still have to work in the yard, but weeding and landscaping is cake compared to the monotony of mowing.

No Gas - I don't have to be reminded of how expensive gas is every week just so I can keep my lawn pretty. I also get a small kick out of knowing that I am not polluting as bad as a gas mower. My electricity may come from nuclear, but that energy is still more efficient than internal combustion (I hope).

Cool Factor - I am the only person in town that even knew this kind of thing exists. When the neighbors ask about it, they assume that the robot nature of the appliance makes it magically out of their ability to comprehend or harness. I am the pioneer of the robot slave world. I have the secrets to make the automaton's obey. Skynet, ho!

Lawnbott Chronicles: Herman takes week off, weeds exploit the situation

Remember that left motor that was giving me problems? Yeah, it failed last Wednesday. KA sent a new motor and I replaced the faulty one last night. Herman got about an hour of cutting done before his curfew, so today will be his first real day of work in a week. Already some of the weeds are 6 inches tall. All of Herman's progress is coming undone by my folly. Now I will pay the price...

Last week I finished wiring the final section of yard in front of the house. Now Herman can attack with the fervor of a militant grounds keeper at Pebble Beach. Over the next two weeks I will be watching to see if the Lawnbott Evolution Plus lives up to its 1 acre promise. If Herman can successfully keep the grass under control I will consider this test a success. During that first week, I wasn't sure, but my fears are almost at rest. I guess all it takes is time for Herman to beat the lawn (and a rug) into submission.

Lawnbott Chronicles: Herman is a rug muncher!

Last night my wife, Lindsay, went outside to make sure Herman found his home for the night but his garage was empty. Figuring he got stuck somewhere, she checked the usual hang-out spots (ant hills and tree bases) with no success. Finally, she found Herman near the back deck, straddling our Astroturf rug!

Apparently the wind pushed the rug off the deck into the yard where Herman was waiting to pounce. Who knows how long this liaison lasted, but the rug is not the same anymore. Herman rode it hard and left scars that are physical and possibly emotional. Lindsay and I have decided that the best thing for all of us is to send the rug away. I think Lawnbott's lust is just going to hurt one of them if we allow the situation to continue.

So much for Herman's innocent facade. We know the danger that lurks between his wheels now. I just hope he doesn't try to deflower the pots...

Lawnbott Chronicles: Flesh is weak, metal strong...

I wanted to install another section of wire this weekend to bring Herman into the front yard, but the weather didn't cooperate.

The cold front and winds kept me from getting outside to finish the wiring job. Could I have done it by being uncomfortable for a little while? Yeah, but I chose to relax instead. One person who didn't relax was Herman. My Lawnbott continued to mow the yard, oblivious to the weather around him. As a matter of fact, I started to feel downright lazy compared to him. That's OK. I'm still smarter. I hope...

On Monday night the weather cooperated and I finished splicing the wire in around one part of the front yard. Herman went to town on the section, which means more crop circle goodness for the aliens...

Lawnbott Chronicles: Thy name shall be... Herman?

Did I mention that my wife has this thing about picking names that don't fit at all? It's true. I had to rename two of our cats because of it. I mean, why give cats respectable names? Suzy and Misty are boooring names. I'm almost certain their nine lives are more exciting now as Pompom and Ecstasy. The last cat, Emily, will be getting a new name as soon as I can find one that fits.

So Herman sounded cute to my wife. I draw a blank when trying to come up with anything funny about the name Herman.

"Look, honey! Herman's wandering aimlessly around the back yard again!" meh...

Serves me right for not having a good backup name.

Lawnbott Chronicles: We have hit critical mass...

Today I came home to find 99% of the yard mowed. I had to actively look for the few remaining weeds. I took this picture of a sand spot in the yard to show how often Lawnbott has criss-crossed the yard over the last 5 days.

From Lawnbott

I can only guess that Lawnbott has cleared enough of the weeds that the few times it meets resistance now, it's more likely to "spiral" on unfinished areas. He also stopped doing the limp, but I'm going to replace the left motor any way. I'm not entirely convinced that the fine sand (anthills) doesn't have something to do with it, but since only one motor is having problems I can't say for sure. Could be a bad seal, could be ant sabotage, who knows...

I'm going wire out one more section of the yard to see how quickly it can work on that area. The grass is a little longer in that area (and the size is much smaller), so I should see faster results. That will have to wait for next week, though. There is a road trip scheduled for this weekend, and Lawnbott will spend the weekend sitting locked inside my garage.

Lawnbott Chronicles: Left Motor Problems

Earlier today I sent an email to Bamabots about Lawnbott's limping and in less than 4 hours a KA representative was on the phone with me performing diagnostics on the machine. The left motor was running at about 40% of the right, but without error codes. Just in case, KA is sending me a new left motor. They told me to let Lawnbott continue cutting the grass until the part arrived, so I put him back out. Right after the setting him loose again I got a "L02 Left Motor" error code.

It looked so sad, limping around the yard. His wavering gait brought tears to my eyes as he bravely swam across that overwhelming acre of green. He has a heart of gold, that Lawnbott. He'll stop and rest every now and then, stating "L02 Left Motor", but I tell him that the job is not done, and he soldiers on. He may be brave and fighting a losing battle, but I have a yard to mow...

Now it is time for me to bring the ants a little present...

Lawnbott Chronicles: The Ants Strike Back!

I found Lawnbott trapped and assaulted by ants earlier today. I'm not sure what they did to him, but he limps now. My retaliation will be swift. Chemical warfare is about to hit Antville...

I posted a video of Lawnbott's limp in a picasa album. Please don't be offended of the naked robot. He said he doesn't mind if his parts are showing.

In the mean time, I have hired bodyguards to protect Lawnbott from any new threats...

Lawnbott Chronicles: I've got crop circles!

After one day of Lawnbott action, my backyard is a chaotic mess of lines and spirals. Apparently, Lawnbott's modus operandi is to pick a random direction and sprint as far as it can before it hits something. Then he turns in another random direction and sprints again. Occasionally he'll do some spirals, probably in an effort to design crop circles telling his buddies in orbit that his new job sucks and I'm a slave driving pain of a master.

I only had to help Lawnbott out twice today. Once when it tried to mow down a tree (his drive wheels came off the ground), and once when ants lured him into a pit. I quelled the ant uprising by smoothing out their city and we're putting barricades around every tree.

On the good side, Lawnbott crossed all mole hills without problems, turning their perceived threat into a minor nuisance. Now I can only hope the incessant whirring of plant death every day will drive those subterranean rodents out of my yard.

Dad doesn't think Lawnbott can manage such a large area, and he has a point. Right now Lawnbott's random paths leave entire sections uncut (possibly on purpose?). My only hope is, as the yard comes under control, Lawnbott knows how to focus on uncut areas. I also have to take into account that this isn't all of my yard right now. If Lawnbott can't handle a measly half-acre, I will be forced to send it back to Alabama in disgrace.

If this doesn't work, I may actually have to mow my own yard...

Lawnbott Chronicles: Will robot my slave work hard enough?

Last night I finished surrounding the backyard with copper wire. Tonight I'll install the base station for Lawnbott and engage the 24v magical circle, binding this electronic servant to my yard for all eternity!

Why only the backyard, you ask? Because I got tired of cutting trenches for something that may not work at all. If Lawnbott can successfully manage the backyard I can extend into the front yard in sections. The manual said (yes, I read manuals for some things) I could program "zones" depending on how I run the wire. I'll do more research on that...

I'm gonna set this guy loose without cutting the yard, too. Most of the really tall stuff is skinny weed things. The rare thick weeds I can pull by hand. My Bermuda grass is still relatively short (1-2 inches in most places). I'll set Lawnbott to cut as high as possible and see what the results look like.

I only have one other worry. I don't know how mole tunnels will affect performance. I haven't done anything to get rid of the pests yet, so the tunnels are still popping up. The manual warns about keeping Lawnbott away from exposed tree roots, which could be a similar scenario. I'm hoping that Lawnbott will drive the moles off with it's constant mowing and demonic aura, but I may have to resort to more extreme measures...

My new toy: robotic lawnmower

I have a problem. My hand-me-down push mower cannot keep up with my 1.03 acre yard. Maybe I should say, I can't push a teeny manual push-mower around one acre fast enough to finish mowing before it's time to start again. I need a riding lawnmower to do this thing right. At least, that's what most people need. I am not most people...

On March 28th I ordered a Lawnbott Evolution from www.bamabots.com in an attempt to automate a large portion of my yard maintenance. If this works, I'll only need to do edging and take care of the gardens. That means more time for World of Warcraft!

I have 30 days to test this thing out and see if it can handle the yard. The only thing holding me back is the perimeter wire that I need to install first. You see, I have around 1,500 ft of wire that I have to run around the perimeter (including trees and flower beds) before I can even set this thing loose. In the three days (roughly 7 hours of work) I've worked on it I got half the backyard done. At this rate I'm thinking I will finish sometime Friday night. Which means I'll need to mow my yard manually one more time this weekend before I can unleash the beast-bot.