5 questions to ask before choosing a robot lawn mower, according to a lawnbot exec

Robot lawn mowers are growing in popularity, and with good reason. They're getting more advanced in features, easier to set up and use, and can be a huge time- and effort-saver... provided you pick the right model. There are plenty of options to choose from, spanning a range of prices and capabilities, and if you're new to the lawnbot world then it can be tricky to figure out which one you need.

This article is here to guide you through that process. I've pulled together five big questions to help you narrow down your options. And for added expertise, I've enlisted the help of KK Yin, Marketing Director at leading lawnbot brand Mammotion, whose insights you'll find throughout the piece.

#1. Do I need all-wheel drive?

"Everyone has a different environment for their lawn. So the first thing a customer should do is choose which kind of power system they need — for example, all-wheel drive or rear-wheel drive, or some the brands have front-wheel drive," says KK.

Rear-wheel drive will be perfectly fine if you have a relatively even and flat lawn, and will have no issue scaling relatively gentle inclines. However, if you have a very steep or uneven lawn, all-wheel drive (AWD) will help ensure the lawnbot maintains its grip without churning up your grass. Front-wheel drive is really only for flat lawns, and is a less common power system.

AWD tends to be reserved for larger, more premium robot mowers. However, at the start of this year Segway Navimow launched compact AWD model, with the suggestion that it would treat your turf more gently.

#2. Does my lawn have shaded areas?

Next, KK suggests figuring out which navigation method is best suited to the environment. "A customer should look at if they have shaded areas, the house is tall or they have trees in the garden. If they do, I suggest they don't choose an RTK positioning system. They should maybe choose a LiDAR model," says KK.

There are two major navigation systems for robot mowers. RTK, which uses satellites, can work very well if the lawnbot has a wide, uninterrupted view of the sky. However, if there are obstructions — such as those listed by KK — in the way, these can block the signal and lead to the lawnbot getting lost.

LiDAR is the system used by robot vacuums, and is relatively new in the robot mower market. LiDAR builds a picture of its surroundings by bouncing light off objects, so it's not well suited to wide-open lawns with no objects in them.

Broadly speaking, RTK will be a good choice in big, open yards, whereas LiDAR might be a better fit if you have a smaller, more cluttered yard. LiDAR models are often pricier, so if you can get away with an RTK bot, you might prefer to go with that option.

#3. How big is my lawn?

Many lawnbot models are available in a few different iterations aimed at different-sized lawns (typically indicated by a number after the product name). The difference is usually the battery capacity — a bot designed for a larger area will have a bigger battery, enabling it to cover more ground before having to return to its dock to recharge, thus making it more efficient.

"I think most users figure out that in one week they will mow maybe two or three times. So they need to work out how long it will take a product to mow their lawn once," suggests KK. With that information, you can work out if your mower will be efficient enough to keep up with your grass-trimming demands.

#4. Do I have more than one mowing zone?

"The next point, I think, is about multi-zone management," says KK. "Not all people have one big lawn — it's divided by the house, or the garden is split into different areas. That means they need to manage more than one mowing zone."

Pretty much every lawnbot will be able to mow multiple separate lawns, with the ability to create different maps in your app. However, some have more advanced multi-zone capabilities than others. One bot might be intelligent enough to handle a schedule where the lawnbot spends the morning in Zone A and moves to Zone B in the evening, and it might even be able to work out the optimal mowing patterns and cadence.

#5. How much setup do I want to do?

If you end up with a satellite-based lawnbot (see point #2), you might need to decide between a bot that comes with a separate antenna and one that does not. This RTK station is required to make the satellite information more accurate — so satellite positioning on its own might tell you where a bot is to within a meter or two, but add in a separate RTK receiver and it's more like centimeters.

Traditionally, you'd have this receiver in your own back yard. This adds an extra level of complexity to setup — the reciever needs to sit high up, with direct line of sight to satellites in the sky, and it also needs a power source. However, increasingly, we're seeing lawnbots that use a big, centralized RTK receiver that covers a large area. Mammotion calls this NetRTK. It's definitely a more low-effort option.

There are further features to look out for if you want the most straightforward setup. Some modern robot mowers have cameras and AI features that enable them to instantly create a map of their location, so you can just pop it on the floor and it'll be able to start mowing pretty much instantly. KK suggests these kinds of features are more of a nice-to-have, and advises focusing on the first four points first.

Reviews round-up

We've tested plenty of excellent lawnbots at TechRadar. Here's a taster of some of our favorites — tap the 'View details' button for more information, plus a link to our full reviews.