Best robot lawn mower 2023: Keep your grass trimmed without lifting a finger
Robot lawn mowers are one of the best garden tools to emerge in the last few years and they’re perfect for people who want to spend less time on chores. These robotic mowing machines are designed to trundle around your garden, skimming the top off your grass as it grows, so you don’t have to traipse up and down with a traditional mower.
How intelligently these devices perform the job varies from one model to the next, however. Unlike robot vacuum cleaners, you can’t leave them to find their own boundaries and bounce off your herbaceous borders on their own; they all need a boundary wire laying down around the perimeter of your lawn to stop them wandering off and cutting down plants you would prefer to keep.
As a result, there are a few factors that you need to consider before you go out and buy a robot mower, and we will look at a few of the most important considerations below. Further on, you will find a list of our favourite robot mowers, all thoroughly tested in our own gardens.
How to choose the best robot lawn mower for you
Mechanically, most robot lawn mowers are surprisingly similar. In your garden they look a bit like a tiny car, about the same size as an upturned washing-up bowl, with two large wheels to control movement and one or two coasters to add stability. They tend to cut the grass with sharp steel blades that closely resemble razor blades, which you will find attached to a spinning disc on the underside of the mower’s chassis.
Are they difficult to set up?
Alas, you can’t just plonk a robot mower down in the middle of your lawn and expect it to know where to mow. All robot lawn mowers need a docking station, which they return to in order to recharge their battery. This sits on the edge of your lawn and needs to be within reach of an outdoor power supply, as it’s always switched on and ready to charge your mower.
You also need to lay a boundary wire around the edge of the area you want your robot to mow. This is usually supplied on a reel, is connected to the charging station at both ends and carries a low voltage, which the mower uses to detect when to stop and turn around. You can bury this wire, or peg it down and eventually it will bed down into the grass.
Most robot lawn mowers then require you to set up a scheduled mowing time, which is either done on the mower itself or by using an app.
How much should I spend?
With the basic design essentially the same, the differences in price usually indicate whether mowers come with extra features and the size of lawn they can cover.
At the cheaper end of the scale – around £400 – the simplest mowers are programmed using a control panel on the back. From here you can set a simple schedule, usually based on mowing for a certain number of hours per day. When in operation they mow in a straight line until they reach their boundary wire, then they will perform a turn so they can head off in another direction.
The boundary wire is the only guidance they have, and they will move around your garden for a set period or until they need to return to their base station for a recharge.
The sky’s the limit at the upper end of the scale but, for a top-of-the-range mower with the smartest sensors, the most sophisticated control apps and enough equipment to mow a large lawn, you can expect to pay thousands of pounds.
Other features to look out for:
Safety Features
- Collision sensors: The mower also stops if anyone, including a pet or a child, gets in its way. If interrupted, it stops, turns in a different direction, and continues mowing.
- Lift sensor: Robotic lawn mower blades also cease working if the mower is stopped or lifted, helping prevent injuries. This is particularly important because health care providers in U.S. emergency departments treat nearly 85,000 lawn mower injuries annually.
Robot lawn mowers use an “Edward Scissorhands” style of cutting blades instead of brushing up dog hair and lint like a Roomba. These microblades are lightweight, and the robo mowers cut in a random pattern, preventing unsightly tracks in your lawn. Most brands have safety features that include reverse movement if they bump into anything.
The mowers mow in different directions instead of straight lines, preventing grass “lean” (toward the direction mown). The lighter clipping of blades prevents the lawn from going into shock from a scalping mow.
Not Every Lawn is Ideal for a Robot Lawn Mower
Although Smart, today’s models of robotic lawn mowers aren’t Smart enough to deal with big ruts, steep hills, or lawns consisting of disconnected islands of grass, so you might have to mow and trim those areas manually. Robot mowers also have problems with small lawn areas with short mowing patterns.
“As designers and homebuilders begin to see the value of this technology,” Aguiar of Mowbot of the Triangle says, “you will start to see it getting adopted more and more over the years, and it will change how consumers look at landscaping.”
Contiguousness: Many traditional lawns, blocked into front and back areas with flower beds, driveways, and other areas, don’t allow a continuous path for a lawn mower robot. “An ideal lawn would be a lawn that is contiguous,” says Aguiar.
“We need to install the perimeter wire that keeps the robot in the yard and also keeps it from going into things like flower beds or around trees or areas that we want to avoid. That wire has to be contiguous because it connects to the charging station where the robot lives and where it recharges,” he explains.
Strips of Uncut Grass: If grass grows against the bottom of a fence or the wall of a home, the robot mower leaves a strip of uncut grass because of the distance between the blade and the edge of the mowing box.
As a result, the homeowner must either hand-mow or edge this grass. You can also install a surface such as brick or gravel around the area so that the robot mower can reach all areas of grass.
Power and Logistics: You must also already have or install an outdoor power outlet in a convenient location for the charging station. You also need to create areas that have a continuous path to and from the charging station and that offer fewer obstacles in a mowing pattern.
Robot Lawn Mower Price
Robot lawn mowers vary in price, beginning around 574 and running up to approximately 17,063. The average cost for a robot mower is 450,470. As with traditional mowers, you’ll need to periodically replace the blades, as well as the lithium-ion battery.
Cost of electricity: This varies from place to place, but one estimate indicates it costs 5 cents to recharge the mower.
If you’re interested in purchasing a robot lawn mower, check out our review of the 5 Best Robot Lawn Mowers.
Optimized, Efficient Mowing.
Compared with GPS, the Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) Positioning System significantly improves positioning accuracy. Combining data from multiple sensors, Navimow can handle even the most complex terrains while mowing in the most efficient pattern possible.
Smart Navigation System Delivers Exceptional Results
Navimow’s Smart navigation algorithm can plan the most efficient cutting route and make changes on-the-fly, eliminating repetitive movements and delivering results that impress. This algorithm is also adaptive and capable of adjusting to changing lawn conditions, increasing the mowing efficiency significantly.
- The automatic mowing path optimization system allows Navimow to select an optimal mowing path and automatically change the mowing direction after completing a mowing service.
- Due to this feature, the wheel tracks developed by repeatedly following the same path can be avoided. Hence it also ensures your lawn to grow in a healthier environment.
Navimow is powerful enough to conquer even the most complex terrains. With a 14-bit magnetic positioning sensor, the rotating speed and torque of the hub motor are well programmed. The torque output is increased to the maximum when rotating at low speeds, allowing the mower to easily handle bumpy or uneven surfaces.
Multiple Safety Features, Protecting Your Lawn and You.
Navimow has five safety sensors that detect the environment and allow the mower to adapt to changing conditions. When encountering any hard object, the mower will reverse and continue in another direction. Safety measures like lift sensor and bump sensor can ensure the utmost safety.
Ultrasonic Sensor for Smart Obstacle Avoidance
The high-performance ultrasonic sensor can detect obstacles and change mower direction to avoid them in advance. Some models come with an ultrasonic sensor. The sensor is also sold as an accessory to install on your Navimow model.
The BladeHalt sensor provides an extra layer of safety, stopping the blades if an object has contact with the sensing area.
This is a lab function that needs to be turned on in the app.
The BladeHalt sensor provides an extra layer of safety, stopping the blades if an object has contact with the sensing area.
This is a lab function that needs to be turned on in the app.
Smart Algorithm for Optimized Cuts
Smart sensors on Navimow collect and analyze usage data. When there is mower abnormality or a changing environment, IoT technology will autonomously recommend the best mowing schedule to optimize cutting results.
It’s Also Quiet
The 54 dB(A) noise level is so quiet, weekends may never sound the same.
IPX6 waterproof, for weather durability and easy washing.
Robotic lawn mower
A robotic lawn mower is an autonomous robot used to cut lawn grass. A typical robotic lawn mower (in particular earlier generation models) requires the user to set up a border wire around the lawn that defines the area to be mowed. The robot uses this wire to locate the boundary of the area to be trimmed and in some cases to locate a recharging dock. Robotic mowers are capable of maintaining up to 30,000 m 2 (320,000 sq ft) of grass.
Robotic lawn mowers are increasingly sophisticated, are self-docking and some contain rain sensors if necessary, nearly eliminating human interaction. Robotic lawn mowers represented the second largest category of domestic robots used by the end of 2005.
In 2012, the growth of robotic lawn mower sales was 15 times that of the traditional styles. [1] With the emergence of Smart phones some robotic mowers have integrated features within custom apps to adjust settings or scheduled mowing times and frequency, as well as manually control the mower with a digital joystick. [2]
Modern robotic lawn mowers can contain specialized sensors, allowing them to automatically mow around obstacles or even go to sleep when it starts to rain. [3] [4]
The vast majority of robotic lawn mowers tackle the task utilizing a “random” mowing system. Basically the machine bounces around on the lawn until it hits the boundary wire limiting the working area, then changes heading until it hits the wire again. [5] Depending on the lawn size, this might take a very long time, so the machine must more or less be in continuous operations. One exception is the Bosch robotic lawn mower “Indego” which creates a map of the users garden and then tackles the task in a systematic manner, [6] similar to the more modern robotic vacuum cleaners.
History [ edit ]
In 1969, the MowBot is introduced and patented by S Lawrence Bellinger and already showing many features of today’s most popular products. It weighed 125 pounds (57 kg), was selling for 800 (5600 in 2020 dollars [7] ) and had an autonomy of 3 hours and 3,000 square feet (280 m 2 ) [8] [9] [10] [11]
In 1992, the first fully solar powered robotic mower is patented by André Collens and sold to Husqvarna which markets it in 1995. [12] [13] [14] [15]
In 2012, the Bosch Indego introduced lawn mapping, to mow in a systematic manner instead of a random pattern. [6]
As of 2019, vision-based robotic mowers, without perimeter wire, were announced. [16] [17]
In 2020, Husqvarna announced a new robotic mower (EPOS) that can navigate completely without boundary wire, allowing location accuracy of 2-3 centimeters by using satellite navigation on a reference station. [18]
Technology [ edit ]
The mower can find its charging station via radio frequency emissions, by following a boundary wire, or by following an optional guide wire. This can eliminate wear patterns in the lawn caused by the mower only being able to follow one wire back to the station.
To get to remote areas or areas only accessible through narrow passages the mower can follow a guide wire or a boundary wire out of the station.
In 2019 an all-wheel-drive (AWD) drive robotic mower was released by Husqvarna. [19]
RoboUP robot lawn mower requires no perimeter wire
If mowing the lawn is not your favorite pastime or perhaps the robot lawnmower you currently have is becoming a little old and degraded. You may be interested in a new robotic lawnmower that requires no perimeter wire and features multizone management, obstacle avoidance and comes with its own companion application that is supported by both iOS and Android platforms. The RoboUP features artificial intelligence and the robot division and can easily tackle slopes up to a 45° incline. Early bird pledges are now available for the innovatory project from roughly 1182 or £1004 (depending on current exchange rates).
“RoboUP is the world’s first robotic lawn mower that seamlessly blends RTK, robot vision, and AI technology. It delivers a perfect lawn for all types of yards, without the need for perimeter wiring. With the proprietary Dynamic Exact Positioning System (DEPS), RoboUP can mow efficiently in parallel lines, trim along edges with precision, and avoid objects and living things with its dual AI cameras, ensuring a safe and hazard-free mowing experience. Enjoy the ultimate precision positioning technology for a convenient and safe mowing experience with RoboUP.”
Robot lawn mower
“Powered by the AI boundary real-time recognition and accompanying Smart app, RoboUP can autonomously navigate along the borders of your lawn, creating a precise and accurate virtual boundary without any perimeter wire installation. The RTK-GPS reference station is integrated into the charging station for convenience, and can also be removed and installed in anywhere.”
If the RoboUP crowd funding campaign successfully raises its required pledge goal and production progresses smoothly, worldwide shipping is expected to take place sometime around April 2023. To learn more about the RoboUP robot lawn mower project watch the promotional video below.
“Optimizing mowing routes with its advanced self-planning algorithms, RobocUP quickly always maps out the most efficient mowing routes and adjusts cutting patterns on the fly to meet changing circumstances. With the ability to mow up to 2000 square meters and precise positioning through DEPS technology, RoboUP makes lawn maintenance a breeze. When the battery is low, it will automatically return to its charging station and resume the interrupted mowing session once charged.”
For a complete list of all available early bird specials, stretch goals, extra media and specifications for the robot lawn mower, jump over to the official RoboUP crowd funding campaign page by following the link below.
questions?
Then go to iMow FAQs, which has even more FAQs about our iMOW robot mowers.
- STIHL iMOW robot mowers keep your garden looking its best and leave you time to work on other garden projects
- With fast, automatic mowing and simple, intuitive operation, STIHL iMOW robot mowers offer absolute convenience
- STIHL iMOW 4 models are suitable for mowing lawns up to 1,700 square metres in size; the iMOW 5 is perfect for areas of up to 2,100 square metres; and iMOW 6 models can manage areas as large as 5,000 square metres
- C and PC models in the STIHL iMOW range can also be operated via app, voice command or as an integrated component in your Smart home system
- STIHL iMOW robot mowers can now also be protected with special additional insurance cover