Clearing the driveway is snow problem for this father-and-son team.
In fact, Alejandro Maldonado and his son Alexei get excited every time a dumping of the white stuff is in the forecast. It鈥檚 an excuse to test out their home-made robot designed to clear the driveway of their Mississauga, Ont. home.
鈥淚t鈥檚 three horsepower, so it can plow up to probably 12 inches of snow, light or heavy,鈥� Alejandro told CTV Toronto on Friday. 鈥淚t can turn 360 degrees, (go) backwards and forwards, and go 11 kilometres per hour at full speed.鈥�
With two electric motors powering the 73-kilogram machine, and a blade that can be raised and lowered, the Maldonados鈥� remote control creation makes quick work of whatever Mother Nature leaves behind.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very fun to drive,鈥� said Alexei. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 have to use a shovel anymore. I can just use this thing.鈥�
For Alejandro, the idea was about more than shirking chores. He said he came up with the two-month long project after noticing how much time his son was spending with his video games.
鈥淚 tried to pick something that I could actually play with him around. So I decided I got to make a robot or something, but I want to make it useful,鈥� he said.
The Maldonados don鈥檛 have any plans to start manufacturing their snow removal robots en masse. But Alejandro says cutting down on his son鈥檚 screen time while getting him interested in robotics made the project more than worthwhile.
鈥淭his is more fun than video games, because it鈥檚 real life,鈥� said Alexei.
With a report from CTV Toronto鈥檚 Pat Foran
