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Tech

Drone Technology + Lawnmower + Video Camera = A Badass Way to Do Yardwork

Never sweat again.

Mowing the lawn is, hands down, one of the crappiest chores that exists. Which is why a handful of people around the United States do it from their living room, in something that resembled virtual reality.

You can now turn cutting the grass from a pesky chore into something of a video game, using technology that has become popular and cheap  ​thanks to the burgeoning drone industry. It's called first person view, and a handful of people around the country have rigged their lawnmowers with FPV cameras that make it possible to cut the grass from your living room.

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Basically, the camera sends video from the front of the lawnmower to video goggles or your TV, so you don't have to be anywhere near the hot Sun while you're manicuring your lawn.

There's actually a Mississippi-based company  ​called Summit Mowers that sells all manner of remote controlled mowers, but you don't need to shell out nearly $20,000 to turn your mower into a remote-controlled grass killing machine.

Take a quick survey of YouTube and you'll find people who have rejiggered commercial mowers, Roomba-like robots, and even electric wheelchairs to cut grass remotely. Here are some of my favorite samples:

This guy, John Lewandowski, took an F-150 wheel body, an old lawnmower from Craigslist, some spare parts from eBay, an old wheelchair, and an FPV camera and transmitter to create this speedy F-150 mower.

I'm not sure what makes this more American: The stars and stripes on the lowrider lawnmower, or the dad (he's gotta be a dad, right?) leaning back in his recliner, watching the mower through his old school big screen TV.

This appears to be a stock riding lawnmower that's had its pedals and steering wheel connected to a remote control. And the goggles? As close to virtual yardwork you'll get outside of the Simpsons.

By now, you probably get it. But I would implore you to at least skip to the end of this video for some lawnmower burnouts and some HIGHLY dangerous lawnmower riding stunts.