Robot rebellion? Watch a runaway robot lawnmower make a dash for freedom

If one key aim of AI is to replicate the human experience, then perhaps this gives our robot devices the desire not just to excel, but to experience the joy of a holiday – leaving home to explore new places, gain experiences, and enrich their synthetic lives. So, is what I spotted in my home village of Merstham, Surrey – just outside London in the UK – a harbinger of more AI adventure travel to come?

In early September, a LawnMaster robot lawnmower had clearly had enough of the daily grind and decided to leave its garden environment for a free-wheeling road trip. After leaving a local property, the escapee mower was spotted by local resident Natalie Hurst while driving her car.

“I was turning right out of a side road and there was a car coming towards me very, very slowly – pointing at something in front of them,” she says. This was “the lawnmower proudly driving down the middle of the road.”

The passenger in that car captured the “Mown Ranger” on video.

Fearing for the robot’s safety amongst traffic, Hurst parked up, caught the mower and turned it off using the large red stop button robots mowers have – I assume – for eventualities just like this, not just in case it’s miscalculated the size of your garden and ended up in the hedge again (though at least they’re smart enough not to run over your toes).

PCWorld hasn’t reviewed this particular model, but in all our robot mower reviews, we definitely count “stays within the property lines” and “doesn’t try to escape” as important criteria.

Hurst took the mower home for safe-keeping and posted her experience to the local Facebook group “Help in the Ham” to track down the owner – and bring some wholesome amusement to others in the village. The owners were aware that the mower was missing and thought it might have been stolen, but didn’t have Facebook accounts – so asked a local family friend to post about it.

“She then saw my post and made contact with a photo to confirm it was the right machine,” says Hurst. [How many escaped robot lawnmowers are there on Merstham roads? -Ed.]

It turned out the errant mower was closer to home that those who saw it assumed it was some kind of long-distance travelling “Mow Farah,” based on the pace that it was travelling.

“It hadn’t gone too far – maybe about four or five houses – but it was making great progress,” notes Hurst.

The owner was reunited with their mower and, as yet, it hasn’t been seen on Merstham’s roads again. But Hurst clearly sees this as a story celebrating the village’s community spirit.

“The owner literally dragged me into her house and was offering me drinks and gave me a big hug,” says Hurst. “Her and her husband were lovely people. We showed them the video and the Facebook comments and they found it all really funny. The wife dropped a cake round to my house that afternoon to say thank you.”

So maybe the idea of our home devices becoming smarter isn’t as scary as the likes of Stephen King and the AI prophets of doom have made out – as long as smart is accompanied by other recognizable human traits, and brings out the warmth of human nature in us.