Robot lawn mower...

[yourout]

Meet Mowby Lawn Kenobi my Jedi robotic lawn mower. 

Segway Navimow X450.

Still have to finish setting it up for all of the areas of my shop yard that it has to avoid. 

All said and done it will be mowing almost an acre and a half.

Not quite as good as my zero turn but it gives me 2 hours a week but I don't have to spend mowing. 

 

[RobertR]

I bought an electric about 2 years ago, but I'm very intrigued about how the robots work. Looking forward to updates.

[homer]

They use one at Brown Deer Golf Course. I saw it over by the driving range. Not sure where else it gets used. Cute little guy.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I want one of these as I am mowing two properties, each are about .3 acre lots, but it's a huge time suck. I am most intrigued by its ability to go where it's supposed to, stay out of trouble, and go around objects. Lots of soccer goals, yard ornaments etc. I'm on a busy road so if it goes on an adventure that's a problem. I've been eyeing them up for years though. I'm just so sick of spending at least 3 hours a week doing it.

[LouisEly]

They're like robotic vacuums.  When they reach a hard edge like a sidewalk or the street the sensors pick that up and they turn around.  Just like with vacuums - when they get to stairs the sensors pick up a lack of a surface below and turn around.  I've had robotic vacuums for well over a decade and have never had one go down the stairs.  Robotic vacuums also have a digital barrier you can set up that the vacuum won't cross.

If you have heavy tree cover and no fence, the GPS might not be able to pick up boundaries of the property and you might have to bury a wire.  You'll still need a trimmer for edges.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Lol, probably not what I was hoping to hear. I've had robotic vacuums forever and I would describe them as "OK." They don't fall down the stairs, but they consistently get stuck on the top step molding and error and stop. Any cords or anything, forget about it. They're great if I can close a door and trap them in one fairly empty room, but outside of that they aren't that great. They're wonderful if you're older or without kids and pets.

[LouisEly]

The one big difference is that robotic vacuums just go until they hit something and then pivot a random number of degrees.  Robotic mowers map your lawn and go in a systematic pattern.  Much more efficient.  That, and mowers have much bigger wheels so they don't get stuck on small bumps.

I think you need to get better robotic vacuums.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

14 hours ago, LouisEly said:

The one big difference is that robotic vacuums just go until they hit something and then pivot a random number of degrees.  Robotic mowers map your lawn and go in a systematic pattern.  Much more efficient.  That, and mowers have much bigger wheels so they don't get stuck on small bumps.

I think you need to get better robotic vacuums.

Either Dyson and Shark aren't what they used to be or these things have limited use for certain homes. I've yet to see a robo vac that actually replaces a good full vacuuming of the house. Last time I went on vacation I set the thing up to go as I left. I wasn't even out of town before my phone lit up that it was stuck. Checked camera and sure enough, it was halfway off the top of the stairs having a seizure. It gets stuck on cords under sofas or a piece of fabric on a chew toy all the time. Even when I'm home and run them, I almost always end up having to kick it off of something. The actual vacuuming they do is great, but they are just not that smart despite the name. When I visit my brother in a medium sized apartment, the thing is great because he has nothing on the floor. For most families with kids and a good amount of stuff, I just don't find them all that impressive unless it's a controlled environment that you prepped for them - which causes my doubts about the lawnmowers. 

In the picture above it looks ideal for the little guy to do his thing, but I think most suburban homes would spend a lot of time cleaning up what it missed. I just don't see either as set it and forget it quite yet.

[LouisEly]

6 hours ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

Either Dyson and Shark aren't what they used to be or these things have limited use for certain homes

They're different.  The last one I had (iLife, bought on Amazon) had a tendency to get stuck on rugs and not roll off of them.  When I bought a new one (eufy, Amazon) I searched product specs and reviews to see if they had a tendency to get stuck, and this one does not.  There is one little place where the stairs are bolted into the floor where it will get stuck for 15 seconds, but eventually backs out of there.  It has never gotten permanently stuck anywhere.

Regardless of whether it's a robot or human-powered vacuum, you have to pick up power cords.

[yourout]

6 hours ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

Either Dyson and Shark aren't what they used to be or these things have limited use for certain homes. I've yet to see a robo vac that actually replaces a good full vacuuming of the house. Last time I went on vacation I set the thing up to go as I left. I wasn't even out of town before my phone lit up that it was stuck. Checked camera and sure enough, it was halfway off the top of the stairs having a seizure. It gets stuck on cords under sofas or a piece of fabric on a chew toy all the time. Even when I'm home and run them, I almost always end up having to kick it off of something. The actual vacuuming they do is great, but they are just not that smart despite the name. When I visit my brother in a medium sized apartment, the thing is great because he has nothing on the floor. For most families with kids and a good amount of stuff, I just don't find them all that impressive unless it's a controlled environment that you prepped for them - which causes my doubts about the lawnmowers. 

In the picture above it looks ideal for the little guy to do his thing, but I think most suburban homes would spend a lot of time cleaning up what it missed. I just don't see either as set it and forget it quite yet.

With the NRTK cellular base location this thing is extremely accurate. It will pull plus or minus 2 cm. Has adjustable automatic pattern rotation with full scheduling if you want to use it

So far I'm pretty happy. Still tweaking the maps a little bit but saves me a lot of time.