This robot lawnmower can run Doom, so you can mow down demons at your next lawn party
Kicking ass while you cut the grass
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
If you find mowing your lawn to be a chore, one company has found a way to liven things up: by grafting classic 1993 gameDoomonto a lawnmower. It brings a whole new meaning to the idea of mowing down your enemies.
The feature is coming to the Automower NERA series of mowers made by Husqvarna – which feature large screens that will display the game – and is set to launch on April 9, 2024. To be eligible, you just need toregister on Husqvarna’s websiteand enter your mower’s serial number.
It’s one thing to load a game onto a lawnmower, but another thing entirely to play it. Husqvarna says you’ll be able to do that using the NERA mower’s display and controls. Specifically, you use the device’s control knob to turn left and right, and press the Start button to run forward. To fire your weapon and vanquish your enemies, you’ll need to press the control knob.
Doom will be available on the NERA series of mowers until September 9, 2024, whereupon a software update will uninstall it. Sign-ups close on August 26, but unfortunately for US residents it won’t be available there – a full list of countries where it will be available is in Husqvarna’spress release.
Who saw this coming?
The idea to put Doom on a Husqvarna lawnmower originated at the DreamHack Winter 2023 event in Sweden. Husqvarna organized what it called a Doom “lawn party,” which it claims was “probably the first multiplayer competition of the game on a non-gaming device.” Husqvarna says it was such a success that it decided to expand the feature to all users of NERA mowers.
It’s become something of a tradition for hackers and developers to port the classic game Doom into all manner of weird and wonderful places. We’ve seen it installed onsmart fridges, ahome pregnancy kit, asingle keyboard key, andmuch more. If you can think of a ridiculous object to play Doom on, someone has probably already done it.
That said, running Doom on a lawnmower probably isn’t the most efficient way to either play the game or cut your grass. But something tells us no one will be caring about that.
Get the best Black Friday deals direct to your inbox, plus news, reviews, and more.
Sign up to be the first to know about unmissable Black Friday deals on top tech, plus get all your favorite TechRadar content.
You might also like
Alex Blake has been fooling around with computers since the early 1990s, and since that time he’s learned a thing or two about tech. No more than two things, though. That’s all his brain can hold. As well as TechRadar, Alex writes for iMore, Digital Trends and Creative Bloq, among others. He was previously commissioning editor at MacFormat magazine. That means he mostly covers the world of Apple and its latest products, but also Windows, computer peripherals, mobile apps, and much more beyond. When not writing, you can find him hiking the English countryside and gaming on his PC.
Quordle today – hints and answers for Sunday, November 10 (game #1021)
The M4 Mac mini has removable, modular storage – and an important SSD upgrade
NYT Strands today — hints, answers and spangram for Sunday, November 10 (game #252)
