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Comment by deckar01 | Hacker News Reader

I have been dreaming of small solar robots that quietly trim the grass all day. Static blades pulled across the grass in short bursts. RC orchestration guided by security cameras.

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Wouldn't the small solar robot have to move pretty fast in order for the blade to be able to cut through grass? I can't imagine cutting grass very effectively by just (manually) dragging a knife through it, it will just bend out of the way instead of cut won't it?

Well scythes are a typical way to cut grass, and they are basically just swinging a blade to do it - they just use a long handle to make it easy to move the blade fast enough.

https://m.youtube.com/results?search_query=scythe+grass+cut

(I've no idea about the physics of required speed or blade sharpness, so don't know how feasible or not a robot cutting this way would be.)

I am imagining razor blades arranged like Vs. They don’t necessarily have to cut horizontally either. Cutting upwards would exploit the tension of the roots rather than overcoming the inertia mass of a blade of grass.

Goat?

Turtle bots.

You cannot just trim grass all day unless you want a terrible lawn. You need to cut at the right hours.

I’m not sure what your criteria is, but mine is to keep the grass alive and provide root structure for my soil.

Aesthetics matter.

With such sweeping statements, it clearly matters to you. However, time matters to me. Others are entitled to have different priorities from you.

My Luba 2 has saved me 3 weeks of manual mowing over the past year and my lawn has never looked better. Frequently complemented by others.

It's just a lawn and a lawnmower. I'm not playing keeping up with the jones, hoa bullshit or whatever other nonsense Americans invent. It's just a Scottish garden for the wildlife to roam in.

square of grass is one of most boring things you can do aescethically with lawn

I have one of the best looking lawns in my neighborhood. I cut it whenever is most convenient for me. That might be any time between 9AM and 7PM. I cut it no matter the outside temperature. The only thing I avoid doing is cutting it while wet.

If that is your dream, then have you considered replacing grass with turf? No growth to worry about!

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