Robot Lawnmower Runs Amok

     Through Countryside

Buchanan: The Mars Rover Project at Georg von Podebrad College suffered a major setback on June 1 when its 25 pound robotic rover prototype ran away. Dr. Bernard Zinn, Chief Research Scientist for the project and his team were testing their planetary rover named "Roscoe" on a farm near Mudville when it suddenly malfunctioned.

     "The project was in a bit of a crunch because NASA wanted video and telemetry data of a field trial showing how effective its vision systems were," explains Dr. Zinn. "So, we equipped Roscoe with a small reel-style mower on each of its four arms to impress the mission managers. We took it out to a farm that belonged to the parents of one of my grad students; they have a very large lawn---around 2 acres."

     Dr. Zinn stated that Roscoe executed it tasks perfectly, it buzzed around the birdbath and trees and flowers beds with out a problem until it suddenly hit something and stopped.

     "Two of the grad students ran to it to check it out. But as soon as they got close, it started up again and ran away a few yards and stopped. Then it did it again, and again. It has a top speed of 20 miles per hour---they couldn't get near the damn thing!"

     Zinn's students investigated the area where the malfunction occurred and found that Roscoe had in fact hit a rabbit nest. While three of the little guys were alright, one had been decapitated and the head was missing. Dr. Zinn and several of his assistants scouted around trying to find it, but failed to find any trace of it.

     "I think it got flung up inside Roscoe," explains Trevor Spain, a graduate researcher on Zinn's staff. "I know this sounds kooky, but I think it interfaced with Roscoe's central proccessors. It's acting just like a rabbit."

     Buchanan County Law Enforcement have been alerted as to the malfunctioning rover and have promised to keep the public informed.