The company has petitioned the Federal Communications Commission to waive a prohibition against the use of "fixed wireless infrastructure" so it can "obtain equipment certification for and market a robotic lawn mower." The FCC rule aims to make sure networks don't interfere with existing cellular and GPS systems.

IRobot is said to be in the early design phase for the battery-powered robot mower which would work with the help of portable sensors, called beacons, that can be placed in the garden to help the robot map out the mowing area. Users would have to install the sensors each spring and run a "set up procedure to establish the confined mowing area."

IRobot currently is the maker of the popular Roomba, which has seen growth in sales around the world. The company also makes a floor-mopping and floor-scrubbing robot along with a pool-scrubbing robot.