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iRobot is going outdoors with an autonomous Roomba lawn mower with smart mapping tech
Mowing the lawn can quickly get in the way of summer fun, just like vacuuming and mopping interfere with just about anything else you might rather be doing. Never fear, iRobot, the company that brought you the Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner and Braava electronic mop, has been listening. Yesterday, the robotic chore solution company announced its launch of Terra, an intelligent lawn mower ready to do your outdoor bidding. According to iRobot’s press release, it will be on sale in Germany and the US, the latter being through a beta program only; however, no exact release date has been provided.
To accomplish its yard travels, iRobot’s Imprint Smart Mapping technology, which is arguably one of the features that made Roomba so popular, has been incorporated into Terra’s functionality. The new grass buster also has some other convenience features in common with its indoor cousins: It recharges on its own by returning to a docking base and can be controlled via an app on either a smartphone or digital assistant. For its more unique features, Terra’s designers relied on the current masters of lawn care for inspiration: humans.
Rather than follow any sort of random get-it-done movement path a Roomba might follow to clean a floor, Terra has a preprogrammed pattern modeled after the straight, back-and-forth lines typically used for mowing. If the battery is running low, the robot returns to its base to recharge, picking up where it left off until its task is complete. The grass cut length is also programmable for heights of about 1″ to about 2.5″, but it should be noted that Terra’s function focus being on maintenance over heavy cut jobs.
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- The new iRobot Terra robotic lawn mower. | Credit: iRobot Corp.
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- The new iRobot Terra robotic lawn mower during install. | Credit: iRobot Corp.
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- Beacons used when installing iRobot’s Terra robot lawn mower. | Credit: iRobot Corp.
The weather isn’t lost on this outdoor helper, either. Terra has been designed with rugged features so that rainy conditions – and by extension, tough terrain – will not prevent it from doing its job. As for grass clippings? There aren’t any or at least any that need to be hauled off to the trash like classic lawn mowers. Sliced blades of grass are refined into tiny mulch bits that double as fertilizer.
Of course, iRobot isn’t the first company to venture into automated lawn maintenance solutions. Swedish manufacturer Husqvarna’s Automower robotically maintains lawns using frequent trips around a programmed area, naturally fertilizes soil with miniscule clippings, mows any time of day and in inclement weather, resists theft with a built-in alarm, and is controlled via app using smartphone or digital assistant. It uses an installed boundary line for yard area detection, however, making set-up more complicated than regular operation. German outdoor product manufacturer GARDENA and Wisconsin-based McCullough Motors have their own lawn robots as well – the SILENO and ROB R1000, respectively, with similar features as well as a required boundary line.
After a survey of the lawn robot market, iRobot took aim to eliminate costly and labor-intensive ground wiring which is required to operate other auto mowers. For Terra, the company developed a wireless communications system incorporating standalone beacons, enabling users to simply program their lawn’s boundary line after placing the beacons around their yard. The intelligent detection software developed by iRobot for its other robotic household helpers combined with a simpler installation process may just give the company an edge over its established competitors in the lawn bot arena.
Read iRobot’s full Terra Press Release.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk’s xAI wins permit for power plant supporting AI data centers
The development was reported by CNBC, citing confirmation from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ).
Mississippi regulators have approved a permit allowing Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI to construct a natural gas power plant in Southaven. The facility is expected to support the company’s expanding AI infrastructure tied to its Colossus data center operations near Memphis.
The development was reported by CNBC, citing confirmation from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ).
According to the report, regulators “voted to approve the permit” of xAI subsidiary MZX Tech LLC to construct a power plant featuring 41 natural gas-burning turbines “after careful consideration of all public comments and community concerns.”
The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality stated that the permit followed a regulatory review process that included public comments and community input. Jaricus Whitlock, air division chief for the MDEQ, stated that the project met all applicable environmental standards.
“The proposed PSD permit in front of the board today not only meets all state and federal permitting regulations, but goes above and beyond what is required by law. MDEQ and the EPA agree that not a single person around our facilities will be exposed to unhealthy levels of air pollution,” Whitlock stated.
The planned facility will help provide electricity for xAI’s AI computing infrastructure in the Memphis region.
The Southaven project forms part of xAI’s efforts to scale computing capacity for its artificial intelligence systems.
The company currently operates two major data centers in Memphis, known as Colossus 1 and Colossus 2, which provide computing power for xAI’s Grok AI models. xAI is also planning to build another large data center in Southaven called Macrohardrr, which would be located in a warehouse previously used by GXO Logistics.
Large-scale AI training requires substantial computing power and electricity, prompting technology companies to develop dedicated energy infrastructure for their data centers.
SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell previously stated that xAI plans to develop 1.2 gigawatts of power capacity for its Memphis-area AI supercomputer site as part of the federal government’s Ratepayer Protection Pledge. The commitment was announced during an event with United States President Donald Trump.
“As part of today’s commitment, we will take extensive additional steps to continue to reduce the costs of electricity for our neighbors. xAI will therefore commit to develop 1.2 GW of power as our supercomputer’s primary power source. That will be for every additional data center as well. We will expand what is already the largest global Megapack power installation in the world,” Shotwell said.
“The installation will provide enough backup power to power the city of Memphis, and more than sufficient energy to power the town of Southaven, Mississippi where the data center resides. We will build new substations and invest in electrical infrastructure to provide stability to the area’s grid.”
Elon Musk
Tesla China teases Optimus robot’s human-looking next-gen hands
The image was shared by Tesla AI’s account on Weibo and later reposted by Tesla community members on X.
A new teaser shared by Tesla’s China team appears to show a pair of unusually human-like hands for Optimus.
The image was shared by Tesla AI’s account on Weibo and later reposted by Tesla community members on X.
As could be seen in the teaser image, the new version of Optimus’ hands features proportions and finger structures that look strikingly similar to those of a human hand. Their appearance suggests that they might have dexterity approaching that of a human hand.
If the image reflects a new generation of Optimus’ hands, it could indicate Tesla is continuing to refine one of the most critical components of its humanoid robot.
Hands are widely viewed as one of the most difficult engineering challenges in robotics. For Optimus to perform complex real-world work, from manufacturing tasks to household activities, its hands would need to be the best in the industry.
Elon Musk has repeatedly described Optimus as Tesla’s most important long-term product. In posts on social media platform X, Musk has stated that Optimus could eventually become the first real-world Von Neumann machine.
In theory, a Von Neumann machine is a self-replicating system capable of building copies of itself using available materials. The concept was originally proposed by mathematician John von Neumann in the mid-20th century.
“Optimus will be the first Von Neumann machine, capable of building civilization by itself on any viable planet,” Musk wrote in a post on X.
If Optimus is expected to carry out complex work autonomously in the future, high levels of dexterity will likely be essential. This makes the development of advanced robotic hands a key step towards Musk’s long-term expectations for the product.
News
Tesla Cybercab ramps Robotaxi public street testing as vehicle enters mass production queue
Recent sightings on public roads and growing fleet activity at Giga Texas signal Tesla’s accelerating push toward the Cybercab’s commercial launch.
Tesla Cybercab is being spotted with increasing frequency both on public roads and across the grounds of Gigafactory Texas, suggesting that the company’s road testing and validation program is ramping meaningfully ahead of mass production.
A total of 25 Cybercab units were recently observed across three separate locations at Giga Texas by drone observer Joe Tegtmeyer — with 14 metallic gold units parked in a tight formation outside the factory exit, nine more at the crash testing facility undergoing structural and safety validations, and two additional units at the west end-of-line area for final checks.
The activity on public roads is just as telling. The Cybercab was spotted testing on public roads for the first time last October, near Tesla’s Engineering Headquarters in Los Altos, California, marking a significant development in the vehicle’s progression toward commercial readiness. As expected at that early stage, a safety driver was present in the seat.
Since then, sightings have only become more frequent. Community observers on X have posted fresh footage of Cybercabs navigating public streets in Silicon Valley, with each new clip adding to a growing body of evidence that Tesla’s validation efforts are well underway. The production backdrop supports the momentum. Tesla’s production line at Giga Texas moved into a higher volume early in March, representing what observers are calling the largest single-day grouping of Cybercabs seen to date.
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- Tesla Cybercab spotted in San Jose, CA testing on public roads with Robotaxi validation equipment [Credit: Nic Cruz Patane via X]
![Tesla Cybercab spotted testing on public roads in Los Gatos, CA - March 10, 2026 [Credit: Osmad Sarood via X]](https://www.teslarati.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/tesla-cybercab-public-road-testing-823x1024.jpg)
Tesla Cybercab spotted testing on public roads in Los Gatos, CA – March 10, 2026 [Credit: Osman Sarood via X]
Tesla ramps Cybercab test manufacturing ahead of mass production
Musk has also stated that Tesla is aiming for at least 2 million Cybercab units per year across more than one factory, with a potential ceiling of 4 million annually.
With testing activity on public roads accelerating and factory output visibly increasing week over week, the coming months at Giga Texas are set to be pivotal in determining how quickly Tesla can bring the Cybercab from validation to volume.
Elon Musk’s xAI wins permit for power plant supporting AI data centers
Tesla China teases Optimus robot’s human-looking next-gen hands
