I famously (among my friends) once received a phone call from my bank wishing me a happy birthday. At the time, getting a call from the bank, period, was very stressful for me (hasn't changed all that much), and as I thanked the caller and (politely, as I saw it) asked that they not call to wish me a happy birthday again.
I have been told that I am the asshole for this exchange, but I stand by this statement: it's not a personal touch if you do it for/to every customer; it's just a waste of time for all involved. And I would still say that I don't want my lawnmower singing happy birthday to me, and that I would rather just pay less for a lawnmower that can't do this.
Or, if you want to impress them even more, have your Luba mower write "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" in your grass with its "lawn artistry" feature!
https://us.mammotion.com/products/luba-2-awd-3000-perimeter-...
The article doesn't explain what happens when it "sings", though.
The title made me imagine the engine revving such that you'd hear different notes but... this is not a normal mower, it's a smart mower with a mobile app; computer with a blade. It could probably play MP3s for all I know.
What does this actually do?
This video from Husqvarna 2 years ago doesn't sound like it's a motor noise. Sounds more like an onboard beeper that can emit single tones. This, in my opinion, is rather disappointing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0_RPlSe344
It's possible that's some kind of motor noise, but it doesn't sound like it to me.
EDIT: I realize when I say "motor noise" there's some ambiguity. I know there isn't a gas powered engine in this little mower. Revving an engine is exactly what I expected, and this isn't that. When I reference motor noise here, I just mean sound could be produced by a servo or similar, but I don't think that's what's happening.
It beeps. The transducer is efficient at monophonic simple waveforms but it would choke on a complex waveform as commonly encoded via MP3. Presumably the beeper was used only for critical UX until this most recent update which includes a programmed sequence of beeps that play this tune.
A brushless motor can also act as a speaker when driven correctly, but I'm assuming it's just manipulating the motor RPM.
Drones emit all sorts of beeps and tones using the brushless motors but I'm not entirely certain by what mechanism the motor controllers accomplish it. The motors aren't spinning when they emit a tone but they do twitch/move so I assume its some sort of back and forth vibration.
Yeah I am guessing it is from the motor RPM pitch but I would like to find out.
The Renault F1 engine could famously play tunes this way.
From time to time, I see people use the word "song" to refer to a tune that isn't sung, one without words. While incorrect, vernacular is what it is, so we can't get too caught up in it, but "piece" would be most proper (albeit transcending musical art to include other arts) while "tune" is a fine alternative.
But this is the first I've seen people use the word "sing" to refer to a tune that isn't being sung, one being played by entirely non-vocal means. There is no vernacular slop muddying the waters here: everybody knows to say "play" instead. It is truly bizarre.
I think that wording is used intentionally to anthromorphize the mower.
People playing music (through all sorts of non-vocal means) is still a very human experience, though. And it's not like performing vocal music is confined to humans. Plenty of machines can sing in the sense of reproducing songs using a speaker that successfully emulates the voice (the word "play" is more common than "sing" in this case, but let's bend the rules), so anthropomorphizing would make far more sense if those weren't ubiquitous.
I guess there have been cases, from time to time, where someone is so good at guitar that they "make it sing"... But this mower doesn't deserve that!
Omega Star has finally shipped ISO timestamps!
Between my smart mower, smart fridge, smart thermostat, smart doorbell, and smart TV, I won't feel lonely on my birthday ever again!
I am sorry sir, but it's time to upgrade from smart to AI. You have no idea what you have been missing all these years. :)
Nice try!
Coming soon: Let your mower recite the mother's maiden name, first pet's name, and SSN of your loved ones.
Coming soon: Let your mower recite your mother-in-law's name, followed by "Muahahahaha" and a sudden speed-burst to 40MPH. #badmovieideas
HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAULIE!
You: "Come here honey, you have to see this!"
stand in garage for 3 minutes waiting
Lawnmower: "beep beep BEE-bop BOOOP BOOOOP"
Her: "I want a divorce."
Obligatory Scanjet Easter egg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JwU5mcIwDw
Eons ago i accidentally found that easter egg on my own when i was diagnosing one and pushed the button for too long. I do remember some weird old HP weblink with the oficial documentation on how to actually program it with different tunes/songs.
"No, no! Anything but that."