Is it Safe?

YES, I-Shovel does not have any dangerous moving parts and it moves at a relatively slower speed, making it extremely safe to operate unattended, even when children or pets are present. In fact, this was one of the key requirements that drove the design of I-Shovel.

Is it Expensive?

I-Shovel is still a prototype. However preliminary analysis suggests that it will be VERY affordable and comparable to gasoline powered snow throwers in the market.

How can a small battery powered device replace a powerful gas powered snow thrower?

It is a known fact that, pushing is much more efficient than throwing when it comes to light to moderate snow. However when snow accumulates to a certain height, this is no longer practical, and requires to throw it further. Snow throwers throw up snow about 6~10 feet up, wasting lot of energy. I-Shovel efficiently pushes snow when its still fresh and lite in relatively short cycles. The computer algorithm controlling the robot closely mimics the shoveling process a human usually does with a manual shovel.

How is the battery life?

The prototype operates on 6V 12Ah, sealed led acid battery, which can provide power to shovel an average sized drive way (1000 Sq ft) for 4 times. It has ability to hold three more similar sized batteries.

How big of a snowstorm it can handle?

Since the cleaning process is gradual, it can normally handle larger snow storms. However continuous running can run out of the battery power. Also, for larger and longer storms the area gets cleaned can gradually reduced.

How about wet (and heavy) snow?

I-Shovles patent pending snow sensor responds quicker to wet snow compared to dry and lite snow. So it performs more cleaning cycles when the snow is wet.

When will it be commercially available?

It is expected to develop the prototype into a production grade device within a year.

How can we invest and/or license?