Dr. Wayne Szalinski would be proud!  Introducing the John Deere Tango E5 Autonomous Mower ($TBD)

Welcome to the world of autonomous mowing – a modern, hassle-free solution that saves you time and delivers a perfectly maintained lawn.

The TANGO E5 is designed to maintain your lawn automatically, meaning you can enjoy the more important aspects of life. Designed, innovated and built by John Deere to its highest manufacturing standards, the TANGO E5 autonomous mower sets a new benchmark in lawn maintenance.
The TANGO E5 is designed to maintain “short grass short” and operates randomly within a preset boundary wire which your local specialist dealer can install. The frequent mowing operation helps to promote a healthy looking lawn and eradicates the manual effort associated with traditional lawn maintenance as well removing the need to dispose of grass clippings. It is ideal for lawn areas of up to 1800sqm and garden obstacles can be either accommodated by the boundary wire (a flower bed for example) or avoided by the traction sensor device where the TANGO E5 will automatically back away from any obstacle it contacts (a tree for example).
Battery power means you no longer have the hassle of going out to get fuel and what’s more, you don’t even have to charge the battery yourself. The TANGO E5 will automatically return to its charging station when it detects that the batteries are running low and recharge itself to 100%, before continuing with its pre-programmed mowing schedule.

This creation, hand’s down, wins the “Why the hell has it taken so long” award for 2012.  Seriously… “Honey I Shrunk the Kids” came out in what… 1989-90, it’s taken 22 years for this to become a reality???  Good job for finally making it happen John Deere!!!