Gizmodo Australia » grass

Husqvarna Panthera Leo Mower Is Electric-Powered, LCD-Equipped

Adrian Covert — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 06:30:00 +0000

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 12:50:00 +0000

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 06:00:00 +0000

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 10:18:00 +0000

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 09:28:00 +0000

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 16:30:00 +0000

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]

Sensory Lamp Concept Brings Garden to Mousemat

Gizmodo US Edition — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 14:31:06 +0000

If you couldn’t escape to experience the Great Outdoors because you were stuck in an office cubicle, or happened to be living through a rain-lashed Summer, then this ambient light mousemat complete with mini-lawn might be a tiny desktop alternative. Sara Rossbach’s concept has a patch of grass curling around your mouse, and lights the pad with a cycle of cheery colours. The good: nurturing the grass might distract you from day-to-day office grind. The bad: no automatic water sprinkles. The worse: more bugs for your computer. [SaraRossbach.com via Elit Alice]

Lawnchair Puts Grass On Your Ass

Seamus Byrne — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 17:36:56 +0000

The Lawnchair is a way to bring the outside into your…outside. Its 25lb base is constructed from steel, rubber and felt. From there, the process works like a Chia Pet.

You “upholster” the chair by adding sod, and a “built-in moisturizing” system (translation: garden hose hooked to tubing) keeps the grass hydrated when your sweat alone can’t cut the mustard. ~~Chia Pet~~ Lawnchair grooming was not covered, but for those looking for more permanent fixtures, the base can be constructed of concrete .

While the Lawnchair isn’t for sale at the moment, it’s more than just a concept. Bookmark the product page, and you can be the first on your block who never let’s their dog “go on the lawn”.

Product Page [via geekologie]