NORTH CANTON - Time to mow the lawn? Take a seat. Inside the house, if you want.

They're not just lawn mowers - they're the homeowner's dream - robotic mowers that do their job while the operator washes the car, barbecues the chicken or drinks lemonade, or whatever.

The Hoover Co. is selling lawn mowers. It wouldn't be the company's first venture outside the box of floor care, but it's not a Hoover product. The Robomower is built by Friendly Robotics, the Israeli company Hoover is working with to develop its yet-to-be-released robotic vacuum.

Hoover spokeswoman Jacquelyn Love said the company isn't releasing the date for the launch of the vacuum product, nor many details about it. Employees were told about the vacuum and mower in the latest edition of Hoover News, the company's magazine.

The vacuum will be made in Israel, in what Love called a "strategic alliance" with Friendly. She said selling the mowers at Hoover's 77 service centers is part of that alliance.

"We are helping them market it here because we want to showcase their technology," Love said. "We're combining our cleaning technology and design expertise with their robotic technology."

The company also isn't saying anything about the price. The Roomba by iRobot is the simplest model on the market, selling for about $200. Other robot cleaners like Dyson's DC06, Eureka's Robo Vac and Electrolux's Trilobite cost more than $1,500.

Initial setup of the mower calls for a wire to be installed around the perimeter of the lawn to be mowed. The wire, which is connected to a 4.5-volt power source, will become buried in the lawn thatch. The Roboscan technology first cuts the perimeter, then mows the lawn in the shape of a letter W.

Love said the vacuum won't need to have wires installed inside homes, but declined to give more details. "We'll be explaining that," she said.

The mower is about the size of a regular mower, without the handle. A manual controller is used to drive the mower to the lawn, and then it's started on its job. The three blades underneath cut a 21-inch path. It covers about 1,500 square feet in an hour.

The company said a quarter-acre lawn is the ideal size for Robomower, but larger lawns can be cut with extra battery packs.

The mower will be available in Hoover stores this month. Price range is about $699 to $999. Repair and warranty service also will be available.

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