The iRobot is a Bedford, Massachusetts-based company, which is well known for its robot vacuum cleaner Roomba. Now, the iRobot Robotic Lawn Mower gets the approval by the FCC after facing many hurdles.

After approving the iRobot Robotic Lawn Mower, the FCC said:

“We find that granting this waiver is in the public interest because it will enable iRobot to market its robotic lawn mower without posing a significant risk of harmful interference to authorized users of the radio spectrum.”

The approval by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) was required to make sure that the wireless transmissions between the beacons do not obstruct with other devices on the same frequencies. National Radio Astronomy Observatory objected iRobot because according to them the device’s signals could interfere with their telescopes.

iRobot told the news service:

“The FCC’s assessment agrees with our analysis that the technology will not have a negative impact on radio astronomy. 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.”

The iRobot Robotic Lawn Mower is designed to wirelessly connect with stakes in the ground operating as signal beacons, rising above the ground by as much as 61 cm.

This is not for the first time that automated lawn mowers have tackled our gardens. Many world renowned brands such as Bosch, Robomow and Flymo have created their own automatic robotic lawn mowers. According to a report by Reuters, iRobot told the FCC that their competitors were only offering hands-free mowers, which required underground fences.

In recent years automated grass mowers are gaining a lot of interest in Europe. After the approval of the iRobot Robotic Lawn Mower by the FCC, we can expect that it will gain popularity in the United States.