robot lawn mowers

There are quite a few models to choose from,.   I notice than even Bosch has one now:  http://www.bosch-indego.com/gb/en/  The ones I've seen so far rely on a buried wire to set the outer perimeter that they mow within.  The Bosch is similar to the Neato robot vacuum, in that it is deliberate and very methodical about how it mows, whereas some of the others are like the Roomba and mow randomly.  None of them do edging, but aside from that it looks like they can do about 90-95% of the work.
 
Overall, perhaps robotic mowers might be better for the lawn, because you could have them  mow more frequently (every day if you wanted it to), resulting it less shock to the grass.
 
I do wonder about real world longevity as well as maintenance requirements and what sort of ongoing maintenance costs (time and money) I should realistically expect.
 
What do you all think?  Aside from the lack of edging, my biggest concern is about the strip of unmowed lawn at the perimeter that they all seem to leave untouched (some more than others).  To me that seems like a significant flaw they all share.
 
P.S.  I wasn't sure whether to post this here (Wiring Closet) or under home automation.  It is a kind of home automation, just not the typical kind that gets discussed there.  If the moderator wants to move this thread to a different venue feel free.

I tried a Lawnbott ($2000+ top version I believe) mower a few years ago and it didn't cut it for me. I have tall fescue, which can grow pretty quickly and pretty tall if we get consistent rain over a few days. If it rained for several days, the Lawnbott wouldn't be able to cut my grass. I also have a slight slope and the Lawnbott didn't deal with that well either. So my robotic mower experiment didn't work.

Also, the more I was reading during that period, I did start to see some complaints of maintenance and felt that it could get expensive pretty quick...but you'd save your time every weekend...assuming the robotic mower could keep up with the lawn growth. Then again, I wouldn't have minded spending a day every month or so if there was a lot of rain and growth...at least it would save me from doing most of the yard work he other 3 weeks of a normal month.

Where do you live and what type of grass do you have? If you have a shorter grass then it might work well, then again some of the shorter grasses result in very dense turf. Of course, I haven't paid attention at all to the robotic mowers since my experiment didn't work out. Hopefully you will have better luck and I'd definitely be interested in hearing about your trial.

By the way, since this is related, I really like the battery powered trimmer from Core Outdoor Power (http://coreoutdoorpower.com) and the Ego handheld blower that you can get at HD.

Thanks for your post.  Austin, Texas.  Presently St. Augstine.  Someday maybe Zoysia.  
 
I have some non-trivial slopes.  I hadn't considered that might be an issue.  What happens?  Does it tip over?
 
I presently have a gardener do the work, so I'll be spending money either way.  At least the gardener doesn't tip over though... 

I've since switch to Zoysia for the front yard and a robotic mower would probably work well for that but non-trivial slopes, like in my yard, could be an issue.  The mower didn't tip over as it is a heavy little beast but power going up a hill isn't that great.  Then again, it might have been the tall fescue in the back yard that was more the issue than the hill.  It was a few years ago and battery powered devices are getting better every year so it might be worth a shot again.  Actually, makes me want to hurry up and put Zoysia in the back yard so I can try a robo mower again...maybe.
 
It cost me less than $100 to send the robotic mower back and get a refund so call it a rental fee and try one out...it just might be worth it for you.

Perhaps the robomow would do a descent job cutting it close tothe edges.  It claims, "Edge Cutting- Robomow is the only robotic mower with blades that cut outside the wheels and a unique Edge mode, which enables it to follow the perimeter wire for complete coverage of the lawn edges."
 
http://www.amazon.com/Robomow-RM510-White-Robotic-Lawnmower/dp/B00CYI7B8K/ref=sr_1_1?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1403827244&sr=1-1&keywords=robomow
 
 
Also, it says you just have to peg the wire to the ground, rather than bury it.  
 
It's a recent model, and it appears to be much less expensive than their earlier models.

It turns out the Bosch and some of the robomow models can handle slopes up to 35-36% (about 20 degrees), which works for most of my lawn, except for a few areas that are 25 degrees:
 
[sharedmedia=core:attachments:6264]
 
 
I'd either have to change my grading or else wait for something more capable.
 
I'm surprised none of the robot mowers are using tank treads.  That would seem to help overcome some of the "getting stuck" issues I've read about with some of the wheeled robot mowers.
 

 
Another surprise to me was that the cutting width on the robomow I reference above is just 11 inches! 11 inches is probably close to what a roomba is.  I guess that's how Robomow reduced the price.  Because of the way they photograph it (always in front, with people in the background), it possibly creates the impression of a bigger size.  That said, they do also make some more expensive models with 22 inch cutting widths.  Does it matter?
 
 

There's always the low tech solution.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tNVOhtvPEw

HAHA!  Love the low tech solution...but I was thinking goats when I clicked on the vid.
 
Reagrding the size, I'd definitely go for the entry level 22" vs half that size.  I keep coming back to periods of rain and sometimes a robotic mower doesn't have a couple days to get the yard cut.  And at some point, if too much rain, you'll need to manually mow it to get it back under control where you can turn it back over to the robot army.
 
One other thing.  I researched these robotic mowers a few years ago.  I'm very concerned that many of the sites selling robotic mowers haven't updated their sites with the latest models.  Not just one or two sites but many sites.  Based on this, it doesn't appear that robotic mowers are doing very well at this point and would concern me a little.  With that said, I'd look for the larger mower and definitely get one that has lithium based batteries. Oh, the other thing that bothered me in reading some of the reviews were how many that said the front wheels would get stuck in a small little hole and you had to go around filling in holes.  Man, that rules out my back yard as it would need to be regraded to be somewhat smooth...maybe if/when I ever switch to zoysia in the back I can do that. 

Desert_AIP said:

There's always the low tech solution.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tNVOhtvPEw

Click to expand...

 
I hadn't realized until after I clicked on your link that there are also a gazillion youtube videos about remote controled (as well as arduino controlled) lawnmowers that people have DIY'd.  There is even an entire category of "slope mowers," which are typically RC mowers that can mow slopes up to 40 degrees:
 

 
 
I'm guessing an RC mower would be less drudgery to operate than a regular walk behind mower and probably also less punishing to operate during summer heat.  So, even if it falls short of being autonomous, for me it may still be an option worth considering.  The one in the photo here sells for roughly $8,500 and can mow 2 acres on a charge.  That's overkill for my scenario.  I probably have only about 5000-6000 square feet of lawn.
 
I notice that more than any other country, Germany appears to be a hotbed for robot mower development.  A lot of the robot mowers on the market were developed there and ship from there, and there's also an open source arduino robot mower that's centered there as well. 

dgage said:

 Oh, the other thing that bothered me in reading some of the reviews were how many that said the front wheels would get stuck in a small little hole and you had to go around filling in holes.  Man, that rules out my back yard as it would need to be regraded to be somewhat smooth...maybe if/when I ever switch to zoysia in the back I can do that. 

Click to expand...

 
 
I wonder if the ones getting stuck have tiny front wheels like this one?
 

 
Seems like those tiny front wheels would be a poor design for many residential lawns, as I can easily imagine one or the other getting stuck in a small hole or divot.  I often wonder how  a potential problem as obvious as this can go unnoticed and actually make its way into production.  On Amazon the one pictured here is priced at close to $2,000.  For a pricepoint like that, they couldn't think of anything better?
 
When I look again at their pictures, it seems that many of the other robot mowers, including the robomow (pictured below) may be similar in that regard:
 
 

Dang.  Where can I buy one of those DIY mowers...or are there DIY dummy instructions to build it?
 
Regarding the wheels, the small wheels do appear to be an issue but I guess it was a design decision to keep the mower smaller and blade closer to the edge.  Also, they probably worry about being top heavy when traversing slopes.  There is another mower with 4 really large wheels but the blade is within the housing so it is only good if it can go over the edging like brick or similar.  And I don't think that version followed a wire, just applied some intelligence when it wasn't over grass but reviews said it wasn't so intelligent.

dgage said:

Dang.  Where can I buy one of those DIY mowers...or are there DIY dummy instructions to build it?
 
Regarding the wheels, the small wheels do appear to be an issue but I guess it was a design decision to keep the mower smaller and blade closer to the edge.  Also, they probably worry about being top heavy when traversing slopes.  There is another mower with 4 really large wheels but the blade is within the housing so it is only good if it can go over the edging like brick or similar.  And I don't think that version followed a wire, just applied some intelligence when it wasn't over grass but reviews said it wasn't so intelligent.

Click to expand...

 
If you want to buy in UK then click here to get top quality mowers for DIY. 

GPS within a few inches has come down in price.  Have been looking at putting that on a gas powered riding mower as I have a lot of open space.  Would have an RC link for remote control/safety shutdown and would always run it when I am within sight doing other mowing and yardwork.  Look at ardupilot and ubloc F9P gps module.  It's a pretty complex diy project but all the pieces are out there to do the automation for about $1000.  $250 for the F9P, another 250 for the Ardupilot hardware, $500 for other parts.  Assumes you have a reference station within about 15 miles (I have a free one run by the state highway dept) and you already have the mower itself.  Would like to do it but more of a dream...