You can be on Entrepreneur’s cover!

A Robotic Lawn Mower Gets FCC Approval The newest product from iRobot, makers of the Roomba, will be a lawn mower that wirelessly connects with signal beacons.

By Reuters

entrepreneur daily

This story originally appeared on Reuters

iRobot
iRobot Roomba 880

The future of free-wheeling automated yard work took a step closer to American consumers on Wednesday after U.S. regulators gave robot maker iRobot Corp Inc technical clearance to make and sell a robotic lawn mower.

The Bedford, Massachusetts-based company, known for its robot vacuum cleaner Roomba, has designed a robot lawn mower that would wirelessly connect with stakes in the ground operating as signal beacons, rising above the ground by as much as 24 inches (61 cm).

Automated grass-mowers have spread across Europe in recent years. In the United States, iRobot told the FCC its competitors only offer hands-free mowers that require underground fences or other elaborate setups.

IRobot's stake design, however, required a waiver from the Federal Communications Commission to make sure that transmissions between its machines and the antennas wouldn't interfere with other devices using the same frequencies.

The FCC usually prohibits the operation of "fixed outdoor infrastructure" transmitting low-power radio signal without a license, and iRobot's lawn mower beacons fell in that category.

The National Radio Astronomy Observatory had fought iRobot's waiver request, saying the lawn mowers would interfere with its telescopes. But the regulators waived the rules for iRobot, saying its beacon design should be safe with the promised limitations on height, signal strength and use in residential areas.

"The FCC's assessment agrees with our analysis that the technology will not have a negative impact on radio astronomy," iRobot's spokesman said in a statement welcoming the FCC's move.

"The FCC's decision will allow iRobot to continue exploring the viability of wideband, alongside other technologies, as part of a long-term product exploration effort in the lawn mowing category."

(Reporting by Alina Selyukh; Editing by Alan Crosby)

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick

Leadership

What We Have to Gain By Talking About Grief and Loss At Work

I lost my husband to cancer during Covid — here's how it changed how I lead at work.

Money & Finance

5 Simple Wealth-Building Tips For This Generation's Forward-Thinkers

Explore practical finance tips for young professionals striving to overcome economic challenges.

Fundraising

Avoid These 9 Pitch Deck Mistakes When Asking Others For Money

Crafting an efficient pitch deck requires serious effort, but at least it's not wandering in the dark since certain rules are shaped by decades of relationships between startups and investors.

Business News

Mark Zuckerberg Says This CEO Is the 'Taylor Swift' of Tech

Meta's CEO posed with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang on Instagram Wednesday.

Growing a Business

To Achieve Sustainable Success, You Need to Stop Focusing on Disruption. Here's Why — and What You Must Focus on Instead.

Instead of zeroing in solely on disruptive innovation, embrace a pragmatic approach to innovation, recognizing and leveraging the potential within ongoing industry shifts.

Real Estate

3 Emerging Trends Shaping the Future of Real Estate

These three innovations are reshaping the real estate industry — discover tips for effectively covering these trends.