Robot Reviews

If you feed an iRobot Roomba with grass instead of dust, what will it grow into?

Although many Roomba owners are treating their robotic vacuum cleaners like breathing/living pets, calling them names and taking them wherever they go and all, these machines will never grow into anything. If you want a Roomba to feed on the the grass on your lawn, you'll need to purchase another kind of robot; one that's called Robomow.

Robomow is an autonomous lawnmower robot developed by Friendly Robotics, a home robotics company that has been operating since 1995. 

There are four Robomow models to choose from: the RM200, RM400, RL850, and the RL1000. Both the RL1000 and and RM400 come with base stations, much like the iRobot Roomba, where they dock and recharge when their energy supplies are about to be consumed.

Also like the Roomba, all Robomow variants are capable of performing their tasks autonomously and are equipped with sensor-powered bumpers to help them back off obstacles on their own.

The Robomow RL1000 and RM400 also undock and go about their lawnmowing chores all by themselves. All you need to do is pre-set the schedules (i.e. days and times) on which they are supposed to perform their duties. This means, once you've preset the schedules, they can perform their tasks with virtually zero supervision.

As for the Robomow RM200 and RL850, you'll have to take/navigate them to the lawn yourself (the RL850 is equipped with a manual controller). After you press the "GO" button, they'll go to work while you go about with your other tasks. 

However, since they don't have any docking station, you'll need to recharge them after approximately every 2.5 hours of operation. This is the duration over which their batteries are estimated to last.

Bo th the RM200 and RM400 variants have a cool safety feature, a tilt sensor that allows them to automatically switch off their rotating blades once tilted. 

With a Robomow on your lawn and a Roomba inside your house, you can be sure you've got your ground covered.