Gizmodo: grass

Husqvarna Panthera Leo Concept Mower is Electric-Powered and LCD-Equipped

Adrian Covert — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 03:00:00 EDT

Growing up, I hated mowing the lawn. My backyard was huge, my allergies were bad and I was stuck with a temperamental push mower. If I had this battery-powered Husqvarna mower, however, I would have begged to do yard work.

The best part of this the Panthera Leo mower isn't the electric-powered design, or the recyclable materials it's made of. No, it's the LCD monitor and sensors, which work together to tell you what speed and height you should mow at, plus inform you when you're on too steep a hill or about to hit an object. And the mower lasts two hours on a single charge.

Jalopnik says Husqvarna plans to put something similar into production within five years (basically, forever). But seriously, I would have driven this thing to school every day if I had one. Trust me. Oh, and check out more pics over at [Jalopnik].

Grass Charging Valet Hides Unsightly Cables In Unsightly Fake Grass

John Herrman — Mon, 11 May 2009 08:50:00 EDT

A desktop grass garden is tragic. A desktop artificial grass garden is tragic and pointless. A desktop artificial grass garden that charges phones is the last thing you buy before an office shooting rampage. [RedFerret]

Tokyo Skyline Contrasts Against Grass Lawns in The Green Island Project

Elaine Chow — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 02:00:00 EST

The Green Island Project asks the question "what would Tokyo look like if all its pavement were grass instead?" and answers it with an amazing series of pictures.

The project is a collaboration between creative director Tag (Ryo Taguchi), photo retoucher IMKW (Imakawa), and contemporary artist Immr (Yuichiro Imamura). Doesn't the ultra-modern Tokyo skyline look a little insane behind all that well-manicured green? [006600 via Cscout Japan]

Muwi Concept Lawnmower Turns Waste Grass into Playthings

Kit Eaton — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 06:18:00 EDT

The electric-sheep lawnmower may have tickled your fancy, but this Muwi concept mower from designer Yuli Sung will have you scratching your head. The concept's roughly the same as the sheep: It automatically assesses the grassy areas, and then cuts the lawn without supervision required. Cunningly, it grabs the grass cuttings inside where they won't lie around setting off people's hay fever. But then it does something strange... it compacts the cuttings into toys. Scratching yet? The second image makes it clearer.

Okay, so the ball could be considered more a plaything, while the grass disks are perhaps more suited for piling up as ad-hoc lawn chairs. Although there's always the possibility of a game of giant grass Frisbee... How many sneezes and streaming eyes would that set off, I wonder? Those grass "bails" would easy to pick up and chuck onto the compost pile too.

Nice lateral thinking here, and for once it's a concept that I'd love a manufacturer to get to grips with for real. [Yanko design]

Does Pittsburgh Dream of Electric Sheep? No: It's Got One Already

Kit Eaton — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 05:28:00 EDT

A six-legged robotic sheep, with grass-mowing teeth and GPS navigation: gotta be inspired by Philip K. Dick, right? Yes, it is: Mower was created by Osman Khan, a visiting professor at Carnegie Mellon's School of Art, and is on display as part of the Bigbots exhibit at the Robot 250 festival. Mower roams around using GPS to place itself on grassy areas, has collision avoidance sensors and makes the most amusing array of sounds as it clatters about. Clearly intended to be a humorous reference to robotic lawnmowers and the "green" method of using real sheep to do it, he's on display at Phipps Conservatory & Botanical Gardens. Robot 250 runs until July 28th. [Robot250 via BotJunkie]

Grass Photography Grows Your Snapshots

Mark Wilson — Fri, 16 May 2008 12:30:00 EDT

Photosynthetic photography is by no means a new technique, but it's certainly new to us. By placing a "canvas" of grass in a darkroom and shining light on it that first passes through a film negative, artist/scientists have been able to tweak the chlorophyll levels of blades of grass and create living photographs. Their permanence is fleeting, but the effect is quite remarkable. This piece is Mother and Child, hit the jump for Sunbathers.

It's like the world's most hardcore Chia Pet. [Viewing Space via Neatorama]

Wired Cuts Through the Latest Electric Lawnmowers

blongo3 — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 16:19:59 EDT

In keeping with our "Laziness in Domestic Chores" theme, we bring you the electric lawnmower shootout. That way we can rid ourselves of all the annoyances of gas mowers once and for all, but still keep our yards in tip-top shape.

Wired tested out four of the latest electric lawnmowers on the market and broke it down real simple. What did they think?

The Worx WG712: 4th Place

They liked how light it was but hated its terrible handling and custom wheels.

Cub Cadet CC500 EL: 3rd Place

This one handled better, but it was corded, wah-wah-wahhh.

Black & Decker 24V CMM1200: 2nd Place

This one might be able to trick your friends into thinking it's a regular lawnmower, both in looks and performance. Although like an iPod its battery is locked inside so its extinction clock is ticking.

Sunlawn EM-2: The Winner

This guy looks straight out of yesteryear but added all of the modern benefits of today. It's nice and tiny like your grandpa's mower, but cuts like one from today. But they did complain about the miniature grass clipping catcher.

And there you have it. Four mowers went in, and only the Sunlawn EM-2 came out. Now you have no excuse for your yard to be in shambles.– Ben Longo

Summer Test: Electric Lawn Mowers [Wired]