Robot lawnmowers seem like one of the most useful inventions ever. Why not automate such a tedious task and free up your day from several hours of lawn work? Who could possibly have a problem with an efficient and cost effective way to mow the lawn?
According to The Guardian, it seems like a group of Mayors in Germany are taking issue with robot lawnmowers. To be more specific, the problem isn’t with robot lawnmowers in general, but the issue is around running the robot lawnmowers at night.
At night, hedgehogs and other small nocturnal animals come out to play. With humans usually tucked away in their beds or hunkered down in front of the TV, hedgehogs aren’t expecting anyone to be mowing the grass when they are out and about at night. The concern is spinning robot lawnmower blades could possibly injure or even kill a hedgehog.
Now, most robot lawnmowers come with sensors, which in theory should protect animals from being run over. The sensors tend to work pretty well with larger animals like dogs and cats, but hedgehogs tend to curl up into a ball, which may make them more difficult for sensors to detect.
German Mayors aren’t the only ones concerned. The University of Oxford is running hedgehog safety tests for robot lawnmowers. They hope their standardized safety test will encourage manufacturers to make sure their robot lawnmowers are hedgehog friendly.
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