this post was submitted on 01 May 2024
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Mildly Interesting
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This is for strictly mildly interesting material. If it's too interesting, it doesn't belong. If it's not interesting, it doesn't belong.
This is obviously an objective criteria, so the mods are always right. Or maybe mildly right? Ahh.. what do we know?
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Throw a tennis ball in its path and see what happens. It must be safe, right? Right‽
Mowing over a tennis ball isn't harmful, I don't see what this would prove.
Depends who you ask, eh. If your tiny pet gets underneath there it's gonna be a bad day.
Fortunately, most animals do not willingly go anywhere near running combustion engines.
Well, not anymore. /s
That is fortunate.
You should meet my dog. A decent robot would be more likely to quickly stop than most human lawn mower drivers though I think.
You really shouldn't be taking your hamster to the park in the first place.
True.
How about my foot while I'm having a lie down? Would that be safe?
Make sure your foot stays close to the rest of your body. If your foot is sitting out in the middle of the grass by itself you're already in serious trouble without the lawnmower being involved.
God, I always do that, don't I. Nevermind. I need to get myself together.
The tennis ball is just an analog for anything actually harmful. Testing its object detection without creating genuine hazards.
What things the size and shape of a tennis ball are you concerned about it running over?
If you're worried about it running over a person, use something that looks like a person as your analogue.