Last Updated on January 5, 2025 by Brian Beck
As robotic technology increases and the cost of energy, specifically lithium-ion technology continues to increase the affordability of robotic mowing will become more accessible to the general public. Economic forces, legislation, energy and of course good old-fashioned time have become major players in the drive of mass adoption of robotic technology. If you’re new to the game of automation you’re in luck, we’ve been at it for seven years and know all about it in addition to the 20+ years prior of lawn maintenance, we can tell you all about what you need to know. For starters, let’s address which mower might be the right one for you is there are a lot of choices to pick from. Before you get enticed by price were some sexy curves on a mower let me tell you what you need to look for so you don’t regret making a costly mistake. There are three things that you need to look for when purchasing a robotic mower:
The size of your lawn– this will determine ultimately what type of mower you get is the capability of the mower is largely dependent on the battery that it carries. A bigger lawn will need a bigger battery-period! if you get too small of a mower it will not be able to keep up with the demands of your lawn and if you get a mower that is too large you may pay more than you want to or what is needed for your particular lawn.
Slope- not every lawn is flat and some mowers can climb better than others. Ranging from 15 to 20° to almost 40°, different mowers will be able to access different parts of a sloped lawn. This is very critical as some mowers simply will not go where you want them to you if you get the wrong one. Some mowers have drive motors on every single wheel adding to the capability of what they can climb, while others are meant for a more gradual or flat lawn surface.
Complexity/visibility- while complexity is more of a reference to wired units, which use a low voltage wire is a perimeter designation, this is not so much a factor anymore as most mowers now are wireless using satellite technology to navigate. Visibility can be an issue with RTK (real time kinematics) mowers that require being able to see satellites constantly. If one of these mowers cannot see satellites in order to communicate what navigates it will simply die in the middle of the lawn. This has been overcome with a new technology called vision which is an optical technological improvement that allows the mower to operate momentarily while it cannot see satellites until it can reach adequate signal. This is going to be pretty much standard on any more that is wireless now as it was quickly found out that the RTK mowers without the vision technology could be hindered by tall trees or structures that would block visibility of the satellites. This technology is continuously being improved and is pretty impressive now, overcoming situations that would have made it impossible to install the mower previously.
There are some other minor factors about where to place the charging station or base station is sometimes it is called an where the satellite reference station should be placed but these are pretty easily installed in most systems these days can be installed by an amateur in under an hour if they have some mechanical skill and technological savvy.
I hope that you take a serious look at automation as it makes life so much easier in your lawn will never look better or be healthier because it is getting cut typically on a daily basis which is precisely what the lawn needed all along.
For more information about robotic mowers please call Front Range Autmow in Colorado Springs at 719-963-8051