Clearing Snow Could Fall To 'Snobot' Someday

Purdue Students Create Robotic Snow Blower

6:19 AM, Dec 13, 2010

Clearing Snow Could Fall To 'Snobot' Someday

pn.ghale
When the temperatures are in the teens and the snow is piled high, the last thing most people want to do is shovel or break out the snow blower.

Thanks to the ingenuity of some Purdue University students, the job could be done without leaving the house someday.

A robotic snow blower, dubbed "snobot," is the brainchild of mechanical engineering students, 6News' Jennifer Carmack reported.

"We started by creating a list of … products that would make people's lives easier," said student Zak Knuth.

"You don't have the risk of slipping, falling, hurting your back," said student David Hoff. "Some people have heart attacks while shoveling snow."

Snobot runs off batteries and clears patches of snow little by little.

"We're using an electric dog, pet fence to have the robot be able to detect when it comes to the end of the driveway or street, so it can know where to stay in bounds," Hoff said. "We think it's very realistic. There's already the robot vacuums and some robot lawnmowers on the market."

There were some issues in a trial run on Monday.

"We had issues with the wheels getting clogged up in the snow," said student Allison Prinz. "We did prove that it's a feasible concept."

The snobot prototype cost the students about $6,000. They believe a marketable version could be sold for about $1,500.