This article is more than 1 year old

Astronomers battle plague of BLADE-WIELDING ROBOTS

Roomba makers' robo-lawnmowers will ruin science, Stargazers tell FCC

Updated Radio astronomers have moved to block the roll-out of an army of robotic lawnmowers in a submission to the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The boffins claim that iRobot's deployment of the machines will interfere with their federally-funded radio astronomy.

iRobot, well known for the Roomba robot vacuum cleaner but also a producer of military and policing robots, filed a request in January for the FCC to waive a prohibition on the outdoor use of a particular frequency range, so that iRobot could take its robotic lawnmowers (RLMs) to market.

In the filing, iRobot described its RLMs as "battery-operated, self-propelling lawnmowers that rely on portable beacons placed in multiple locations on a lawn. The beacons transmit information to the RLM that enables the RLM to map out and stay within a designated mowing area".

The robots are designed to operate in the 6240-6740 MHz frequency range. However, the FCC has a blanket prohibition on unlicensed operations of wideband systems within the 5925-7250 MHZ band.

The FCC noted that "Section 15.250(c) states that '[e]xcept for operation onboard a ship or a terrestrial transportation vehicle, the use of a fixed outdoor infrastructure is prohibited' for such systems, and that '[a] fixed infrastructure includes antennas mounted on outdoor structures, e.g., antennas mounted on the outside of a building or on a telephone pole'."

The FCC acknowledged that its Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) was reviewing the request that the clause be waived, and that it was also allowing "interested parties" to submit comments on the issue as per protocol.

Scientists from the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) have filed a comment and explained: "The purpose of singling out this frequency band is to allow interference-free observation of the 6.66852 GHz spectral line of methanol (CH3OH), that is abundant in star-forming regions and serves as a galactic beacon of star-forming activity owing to its maser-like qualities."

Adding that this "also allows the Observatory’s telescopes to do a kind of celestial cartography that measures distances to star-forming regions with high precision, charting the course of galactic evolution".

In its waiver request, iRobot states that while Section 15.250(c) prohibits "fixed outdoor infrastructure" the use of the portable beacons does not fall under the rule as it would not "establish a wide area communications system or network".

This is disputed by the NRAO. The astromers are not opposed to RLM operations in general, but have objected to the robots' potential capacity to degrade the National Radio Quiet Zone (NRQZ) in West Virginia.

"iRobot’s RLMs can certainly operate over most of this country without interfering with radio astronomy operations, but they equally certainly must be prevented from operating across the protected methanol band when this will cause interference, especially within the NRQZ," the NRAO explained.

The Register contacted both the NRAO and iRobot corporation for comment. We'll update this story if we hear back from them.

iRobot Corporation's name is inspired by a collection of short stories published by Isaac Asimov in 1950. Asimov's first law of robotics states: "A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm."

A failure to implement this law had consequences earlier this year, when a robotic vacuum unsuccessfully attempted to eat a woman in Korea. ®

Update

Both the NRAO and iRobot have responded to our calls for comment on the stargazer/robot lawnmower deathmatch.

Harvey S. Liszt, Scientist & Spectrum Manager at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory said: "iRobot's waiver request is predicated on the very general prohibition against outdoor use of a wide variety of ultrawideband (uwb) devices, including those using the band in question now. The FCC will weigh the issue of potential interference to radio astronomy as one element of its final decision, but the larger and more important issue is whether to waive the prohibition against outdoor use, even for this limited exception... you see how this seemingly innocent device, because it uses such a broad swath of spectrum, crossed one of radio astronomy's protected bands."

Speaking on behalf of the voracious, bladed autonomous machines, iRobot said: "iRobot has reviewed comments filed by the NRAO and believe that there is an infinitesimal likelihood that the proposed RLM system will impact any radio astronomy measurements. The FCC staff is highly competent in determining these technical matters and will determine whether there will be any negative repercussions to radio astronomy. We trust that the FCC will make the right decision. When it comes to specifics, though, it’s iRobot's policy not to comment on unannounced products or technologies."

More about

TIP US OFF

Send us news


Other stories you might like