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My neighbor's new robot mower just tried to trim my cat
I saw it happen last Thursday, the thing mistook my orange tabby napping in the sun for a weirdly shaped patch of grass. It nudged him twice before he woke up and ran off, lmao. People keep saying these bots are just for lawns, but they're already making weird choices with zero common sense. If it can't tell a cat from a dandelion, how's it gonna handle a real job that needs any kind of judgment? Has anyone else had a 'smart' device do something this dumb?
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the_terry2mo ago
Okay but hold up. That's not the mower being dumb, that's it working exactly right. It's supposed to stop when it hits something solid, and it did. Your cat got a nudge and left. The whole point is it doesn't have judgment, it just follows its simple programming. Expecting it to know what a cat is misses what these things are for. They're for cutting grass, not making choices.
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baker.holly1mo ago
Oh man, I gotta push back a little here, @the_terry. I see your point about the safety feature, but the real issue is that these mowers don't have any way to tell the difference between a cat and a rock, which is a pretty BIG flaw for something roaming around a yard where pets hang out. It's not about expecting it to be an intern, it's about wanting a machine that can at least pause long enough to NOT shove a living animal.
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caseythompson2mo ago
Look at what actually happened though. Your cat got nudged and moved, which is exactly the safety feature working. Calling it dumb feels like expecting a toaster to know not to burn bagels. These things are just fancy scissors on wheels, not interns.
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Used to think these things were harmless. Seeing one try to mow a living creature changes your mind fast. They really don't have a clue.
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