I have seen several versions of automatic or robotic lawn mowers online yet I am still skeptical. Mostly I have seen ones similar to the one pictured at the end of this post. But I have run across a couple of big ones. They all seem to be guided by GPS or an underground cable. The problem I have with the tiny plastic looking ones is they look, well, frail. They appear to only be suited for perfect terrain, weather, and grass height. Most lawn mowers I have seen look pretty rough after about 3 uses. The cost on these auto mowers is nothing to sneeze at either so I see a long way to go before these admittedly cool devices become anything close to the norm. Also these things appear very small so you had better have a matching lawn. Too much area would kill these little things. Of course it does not matter how long it takes since you don’t even have to be outside to run it. I have seen remote controlled mowers but having to sit outside to control it would not be much better than actually riding a mower. The irobot sweepers have done very well but they are used inside in perfect conditions. As for the larger mowers they certainly have their drawbacks. Mainly they could really do some damage. The cute little tiny mowers won’t hurt much if they run astray but get a Dixie Chopper type mower on the loose and you have got a menace to society. I like the concept but it has a long way to go. Paying someone cut the lawn is still much cheaper than buying a robot helper. Oh and making your kids do it for free is even better.