For some people, a robotic lawn mower is a great invention. They enable your lawn to get a nice cut without you having to do any physical work at all. You do not have to constantly buy petrol and oil for them, they require minimal upkeep and all round they are perfect to get if you physically can not mow your lawn for what ever reason.
Now before you decide to buy a robotic lawn mower there are several factors to consider. How big is your lawn? It is a flat area or is it raised in some parts? And perhaps the most important thing is that is the mower safe to use around your pets and children. For most people that is not an issue, but it is still something to consider.
While there is not a great range of robotic mower currently in Australia here are a few we chose to have a look at.
Husqvarna Automowers.
The 105 model. A great robotic mower. It is exceptionally durable and whether it is sunny, raining, or windy it will be able to cut your grass to perfection. It is exceptionally quiet so if for some reason you would like it to mow your lawn at night, then you can. Before you start it mowing your lawn you will have to get a recognized dealer who will set up an electric fence around the boundary of your lawn that will easily make your robotic mower mow the lawn within that electronic boundary as it picks up on the sensors on the boundary and knows where to mow. Another neat feature is that when the battery power is getting low the mower will simply return to its re charging area to begin charging. It is on the expensive side however, with the 105-model setting you back around $2000 but if you are unable to mow your lawn for whatever reason then you can consider it money well spent to keep your lawn looking neat and tidy with minimal effort.
The Husqvarna automower 315.
It is a reliable automower that can handle most types of lawns and has a high degree of intelligence. A great example of this is if it needs to be charged and it is within a certain distance from its docking station, the Huzqvarna automower 315 will automatically make its way back. Taking a different route each time so it does not create a dirty or muddy track which is incredible. It also never gets stuck in and around your backyard as it can recognize pavers and other obstacles. It is also a noticeably quiet automower too which is good news for you and your neighbors. The app that comes with this automower is extremely user friendly. You can easily change start points on your lawn, cutting heights as well as new cutting schedules. You can also connect your smartphone or any other phone to it by simply using bluetooth, although some have suggested that a wifi connection would have been better suited for the upgraded models. It is a great buy and is a little on the expensive side coming in at around $2700 Australian dollars but it would be money well spent as it is equally effective on easy to mow lawns as well as the more challenging lawn areas.
Another Husqvarna automower is the 450X. This automower is capable of mowing even the biggest of working areas. It can handle steep slopes up to 24 degrees and it can mow in any weather conditions. It is effective, efficient and gives you a great finish to your lawn area. The automower 450X is a fully autonomous mower that has many great features. It has GPS assisted mapping, you can use a pin code for security and it even has alexa voice command. The pattern that is moves around small lawns and even big lawn areas is random and it moves at different angles and when it comes across an obstacle or guide wire or perimeter wire it simply moves in the other direction and continues mowing. A drawback is its cutting width, which is only 24cm, but it covers alot of lawn area and can run upto 18 hours a day. Everything can be controlled by the app on your smartphone which includes its run time, making it go back to its docking station and full scheduling or you can simply use the mower on board keypad. It also has ultrasonic sensors on board too. The sensors can detect larger objects and force the mower to slow down and by doing this it minimizes contact which sometimes can not be picked up by the perimeter wire. The other great feature is its noise level. It is basically silent. If you set the automower to mow regularly the small clippings that are always left behind end up getting mulched into the grass soil straight away and you will barely have to clean it throughout the year.
The Husqvarna automower 430x.
The automower connect app is user friendly as it gives you all the control right from your smartphone. From commands such as start, stop and telling it to go back to its docking station it is all at your fingertips. It can figure out complexlarge lawn areas such as steep slopes, tough landscapes and many more. It also has GPS assisted navigation and you can use voice control through google home or Amazon alexa. It also has a rain sensor and it can work effectively in all weather conditions, even cutting wet grass to perfection. When you put the battery on the charging station to begin recharging your battery it will only take around 50 minutes to fully charge the battery. The battery life for larger lawns is slightly over an hour and a half which is great considering how long you can use it for on a single charge.
The Robomow rs630.
The Robomow rs630 is a high-class automatic lawn mower. Thanks to its 26-volt lithium-ion battery it can run for just over an hour and a half on a single charge and it takes roughly the same amount of time to fully charge it. However, most people do not tend to worry about charging times as the robomow rs630 will simply take itself back to the docking station when it needs to recharge. This type of robotic mower has been round for a while, with a constantly updating app and smart phone capabilities. This new model is Alexa enabled, which means by using a voice command you can tell your robomow rs630 to go and cut your lawn.
The Worx landroid robot lawn mower.
This mower basically has a mind of its own which is scary to think about. Thanks to its Advance Intelligence Algorithm it makes sure this mower can easily go about cutting all by itself. it also has rain sensors and if it detects a single drop of rain it will make its way back to its base station or if its battery needs charging it simply goes back does that too.
McCulloch Rob s600.
This is a simple yet effective robotic lawn mower, based on lawn mower reviews. It is incredibly reliable and intelligent. It is a good enough mower but lacks when it comes to communication and all-round functions. Its cutting height ranges from 20mm all the way to 50mm. It does struggle however if you have a steep lawn or flowerbeds near your lawn as it tends to get stuck a bit too often, but if you have a nice flat lawn with no obstacles then this is a decent robotic mower. Overall if you are looking for a robotic lawn mower that will not stretch your budget as it is on the cheaper side costing around $700 so the McCulloch Rob s600 is a decent enough choice.
Gardena Smart Sileno Life(750m2)
The Gardena Smrt Sileno Life is easy to program but unfortunately for tech enthusiasts the app that comes with this mower has next to no features. The mower is in general is reliable but if you happen to wait a long time in between cuts then that is when this mower tends to struggle. Upkeep on this mower is simple because all the dirt and grime can be washed off with water from your garden hose. The cutting width it possesses is decent which makes it efficient however it tends to struggle if your lawn has a slope and sometimes it tends to push your grass down rather than cutting it. Which sometimes means that it will have to mow over a spot on your lawn that it has been previously to get a complete cut. The Smart Sileno is a very quiet mower so if you wanted to you could set it up to cut at night as your neighbors would not hear it, also if it happens to rain it will not affect it as it has the types of wheels that will be friendly to your lawn and not dig it up. Another good feature is that the Gardena Smart Sileno very rarely gets stuck. If you have fruit on the ground in your backyard or bare soil it will not get stuck. In most cases it backs way and finds another route to continue cutting, so it is probably best to rid your lawn of all objects before using it. The program that comes with the Smart Sileno is easy install. The interface is simple to get around and understand, also the number of features fits well given the price tag is comes with. It will set you back around $450-$500 Australian dollars so compared to other automatic mower it is on the cheaper side.
The Honda Miimo 310.
The Honda Miimo 310 is an easy to use automatic lawn mower and is reliable. It can handle most types of terrain and has a decent mowing time. One of its best features is its ability to handle different terrains. It copes easily with steep slopes on your lawn area and it easily glides over pits and continues mowing. The other great feature is what this mower can do when it is faced with tall grass. The Honda Miimo 310 will cut the taller grass and nearly come to a complete stop so that the grass is cut to its desired height, something than no other automatic mowers will do. It also has a decent mow time as well, running around 40 minutes and once the battery power starts to dwindle it can be placed on the charge for roughly the same amount of time, which given its price is a little knock on it. The program is reasonably straightforward, and it is easy to change the settings, but the installation is a lot harder than it needs to be as the connections are not in a user-friendly place. The other downside is that this mower program has no app support so if you are stuck then basically bad luck, it does not even come with bluetooth like many other models. This makes other users feel that the Honda Miimo 310 is getting out-dated quickly. It will cost you around $700 Australian dollars but given the price tag there should be more improvements to demand such a price.
The Ambrogio Robot
This type of robotic lawn mower is state of the art. It can cut any type of lawn, whether you have a large or small area, if your grass is thick and tough to cut through or nice and easy to cut, the Ambrogio Robotic mower will get it done effortlessly. It has impressive technology on board too, allowing it to identify different levels of lawn and if certain parts of your lawn require different heights of cut it can adjust accordingly which is nothing short of incredible. Another good piece of technology it has is that if it does happen to start raining you can program it to return to its charging area or simply make it continue cutting during the rain. It is on the expensive side like the Husqvarna, costing you around $2000 for the basic model and increasing in price for the higher market mowers.
So, while at this stage there is not much variety in robotic mowers in Australia one can only imagine that this will greatly increase as the years go by and as technology continues to make strides. there are numerous ones available overseas so there is plenty to choose from if you are happy buy from the overseas market.
