Robo-Mowers Questions

[glnc222]

Advertised as moving in straight lines, like the Bosch -- but adds the automatic detection of grass surface eliminating boundary wires, very long on large areas.
High capacity model -- 0.6 acres, so expensive $2800. Smallest Bosch under $1000.
User manual at https://api.toadi.com/public/toadi-inst ... manual.pdf

While mechanically it looks like it could operate in rain the software apparently does not allow it, for the sake of better cutting performance. Manual states:
"Your worker robot will not mow when it is raining because that will damage your grass.
Your worker robot automatically takes rain hours into her calculation and updates her
mowing schedule automatically."
No option mentioned to over-ride.
It is understandable in one way that makers do not trust users to make complicated settings and risk an unsatisfactory performance affecting sales.

For small simple areas perhaps the Bosch suitable for the rainy conditions mentioned.

[Jaroslav]

Bosch is very poorly implemented. It gets lost easily, either because of a complicated garden shape or because of some obstacles or even high grass. If it gets lost, it starts a very very inefficient process of "confirming the location". So inefficient that it takes ages to finish and some areas are never cut properly.

I had big hopes in Bosch, but I'm so disappointed with them. I cannot stand stupid robots going randomly, so my hopes are now with Toadi (or maybe iRobot's mowing robot if they ever release it ... but I do not trust iRobot technology too much, I do have several their robots).

Bosch can cut in rain but it is not the best idea ... cutting wet grass is inefficient and the robot gets pretty messy.

[glnc222]

The German robot forum roboter-forum.com has a section on Bosch mowers (from a German firm) with a number of criticisms and reviews. Google translator can be used to read in English, and installed as an extension of browsers.
https://www.roboter-forum.com/index.php?board/74-bosch/

[Jaroslav]

Would you be afraid to order Toadi?
Seems as the by far the best mowing robot on paper, but no real reviews yet ...

https://www.toadi.com/

[Jaroslav]

Ok, I'll answer to myself: Probably not a good idea to order Toadi now. Based on comments on Kickstarter, it looks that it is far from being usable yet. And still they sell "reservation tickets" and then ask you to order it.

[bkrownd]

I will have to keep an eye on that toadi.

Unfortunately, I'm having difficulty trying to find a real contractor that's able to plant the rest of our yard during our good growing season. :/

[bkrownd]

Bosch can cut in rain but it is not the best idea ... cutting wet grass is inefficient and the robot gets pretty messy.

In the tropics it's more a question of HOW wet the yard is at any time, and how many minutes until the next sunshower.

[william571]

Good to see the post. helpful

[bkrownd]

A year later the grass is in place, but I still manually mow. I'd love to let a little mower loose in the yard so I can save myself 2-3 hours a week, but questions about how they deal with more-often-than-not rain plus the hassle of installing hundreds of feet of guide wires in rocky soil kept me from making a decision. The current breed of mowers just still seem half-baked and likely to disappoint.

[glnc222]

New mower Consumer Electronics Show (CES) Las Vegas Jan. 2013.
Self-Driving Lawn Mower

A lawn-mowing robot has long been one of the great promises of the digital age. But the ones on the market for the past decade or so have mostly created more work than they took away. Worx, which has been in the business a while, showed off the Landroid Vision. It’s packed with cameras and autonomous-vehicle AI so it can tell the difference between grass and other surfaces. You don’t even have to set up boundary wires or antennas to keep it from running off. It’s “drop and mow,” as the company says. During a demo in Las Vegas, it easily steered clear of a (plush) hedgehog lying on the turf. It starts at $2,399 and goes on sale in April. 
https://www.worx.com/landroid/vision-technology/

[glnc222]

August 2024: Kress announced mowers with GPS guidance replacing need for embedded boundary wires or other markers, more like an indoor vacuum.
$2400 for 1/4 acre capacity, more for larger. Typical cost given large battery requirements etc. compared to simpler vacuums.
https://www.kress.com/en-us/robotic-lawn-mowers/