The best robotic lawn mowers

The NAC RLM800-NG robotic lawn mower is oriented in space using a boundary cable, pre-laid under the lawn around the perimeter of the area and connected to the “base”. The kit includes 100 m of wire and 150 clamps for attaching it. The robot moves with the help of fairly large wheels, which make it easy to overcome not very smooth surfaces (therefore, this device is well suited for those whose lawn has not yet reached ideal condition). Since the mower has two brushless motors (one on each wheel), it smartly turns around when it hits a boundary wire or hits an obstacle. Moving across the lawn, the robot mows the lawn in 18 cm strips. The cutting height can be adjusted in the range from 20 mm to 60 mm using a stepless rotary control.

The power source is a 28-volt battery with a capacity of 2 Ah. It provides up to 90 minutes of runtime on a single charge. During this time, the robot manages to mow about 50 m². The lawnmower heads to the “base” when the battery charge drops below 20%, or in case of rain (a special sensor allows the robot to understand when precipitation begins). This device is programmed quite simply, but its settings are not particularly flexible. In order to set a work schedule, use the control panel to enter the start time of the “shift” and indicate the area of the site (not less than 50 m² and not more than 800 m²). The robot, taking into account the size of the lawn indicated to it, will divide the entire amount of work into 48 hours and create a schedule for itself: when to work, when to charge, and when to just relax at the “base” and do nothing. If you don’t like this independence, you can force the lawn mower to work manually by pressing the “Start” button.

By the standards of robotic lawn mowers, the NAC RLM800-NG is considered an inexpensive device. It is, of course, far from the most “advanced”, but it works very quietly (the noise level does not exceed 60 dB) and conscientiously: it carefully cuts the grass, cuts the blades of grass into the smallest pieces and pours plant residues onto the lawn, using them as organic fertilizer. And at this time, having gotten rid of the need to mow the lawn and collect the cut grass, you can simply relax.

The GARDENA Sileno minimo 250 lawnmower is a robot for maintaining short-cropped lawns that have a small area. He runs around the site, “orienting himself” with the help of boundary and guide wires, which must first be laid along the perimeter of the lawn just below ground level (150 meters of cable and 150 pegs for fixing it are included with the machine). You can enter two mowing zones into the device’s memory and configure the robot so that each zone is processed according to its own schedule. In addition to automatically scheduled operation, the lawnmower can be controlled manually (using the control panel on its body) or from a smartphone on which the GARDENA Bluetooth App is installed.

This lawn mower can work in heat up to +50 °C and is not afraid of rain (it has IPX5 protection). It is safe for children and pets (the knives stop when lifted or turned over). The robot can move in narrow passages (60 cm wide) and is good at mowing corners and other hard-to-reach places. The lugs on the drive wheels provide cross-country ability and allow you to overcome areas with a slope of up to 25%. The fast-rotating knives (16 cm cutting width) cut vegetation into such small pieces that there is no need to rake the grass after mowing. The mowing height can be adjusted from 20 mm to 45 mm (to reconfigure, you need to turn the device over and, using a screwdriver, move the spindle blade to a different position).

Gardena is particularly proud of the quiet operation of this lawnmower. The noise from the engine and cutting system during mowing does not exceed 57 dB ( about the same as from the outdoor air conditioner unit). Therefore, while working, the car will not interfere with your rest and will not cause dissatisfaction among your neighbors. This lawnmower is recommended for use on areas up to 250 m² (for larger areas the GARDENA Sileno minimo 500 is suitable). The manufacturer estimates that the approximate treatment time for a lawn of this size is about 5.5 hours (the total time consists of several 65-minute operating cycles and 75-minute charging cycles). To mow 250 m², the robot consumes about 2.1 kilowatt-hours of electricity.

The Worx Landroid S400 WR184E robotic lawn mower is designed to care for emerald lawns up to 400 m². Like many other robots, it navigates in space with the help of boundary cables, which must first be installed around the perimeter of the area (the kit includes 100 m of cable, 130 pegs for fixing it and other small accessories, such as connectors and templates for marking). The device can overcome small slopes (with a slope of up to 35%), and the AIA (artificial intelligence algorithm) system, “built into” the robot’s program, helps it chart a path through narrow areas and independently plan the optimal route so as to completely mow the area in a minimum amount of time. possible time. Using the large rotary switch located on the body, the user can adjust the desired cutting height (4 positions: 20, 30, 40 or 50 mm). The robot is powered by a regular 20-volt battery from Worx cordless tools.

The Landroid robot is small, but packed to the brim with interesting and useful features. First of all, the brushless motor deserves mention - it is much more reliable and efficient than electric motors of traditional design. Other features include a rain sensor (the mower automatically stops working during precipitation so as not to spoil the lawn, and returns to the base) and the “Save the Hedgehogs” mode (the robot does not work in the dark and at twilight, when nocturnal animals are active). The lawnmower can be controlled (for example, changed the schedule or forced to return to base) manually using the display and buttons located on the body. But some features can only be enabled through the Landroid app for smartphones and tablets. For example, the “smart mode” is configured exclusively through the application - a program in which the robot independently develops a lawn mowing schedule, taking into account the entered data (area, soil type, lawn type, soil type, etc.) and current weather conditions at your place of residence.

Worx's trademark feature, implemented in many robots of the Landroid family, is their modular design, which allows you to expand the functionality of the device by installing additional accessories. For example, on the Worx Landroid S400 WR184E you can install ultrasonic sensors (so that the robot “sees” obstacles and goes around them), a module for prohibiting entry into certain areas (for temporarily limiting certain areas without relaying cables) or a module for voice control of a lawn mower. Naturally, all these accessories are purchased separately.

The AL-KO Robolinho 350 W lawnmower is designed for thorough care of short-cropped lawns up to 350 m². The configuration of the area that is assigned to the robot is set using a boundary cable (the kit includes a 100 m coil with a set of pegs) laid along the perimeter of the lawn just below ground level. Starting from its base at the appointed time (according to a schedule programmed through the menu or using the application), the lawn mower will move across the lawn along random paths at a speed of about 1 km/h. She can overcome small descents and ascents (with a slope of up to 30%) and is trained to find passages in narrow places (from 60 cm). A full battery charge lasts approximately 45 minutes (after which the robot returns to the base and spends the next 45 minutes recharging).

Moving around the area, the device mows the grass in strips 20 cm wide. The cutting system consists of four knives. However, there is a slight difference in height between the two pairs of blades. This arrangement of the cutting system allows for a cleaner cut and improves the process of chopping the grass. Plant residues, chopped into tiny pieces by four knives, crumble under the lawn mower and fall to the ground, turning into organic fertilizer useful for the lawn. The cutting height is adjustable from 25 mm to 55 mm using a rotary switch. The adjustment mechanism is synchronous (one switch acts on all wheels) and stepless.

If you don't want to leave the house to run the lawnmower or reschedule your mowing schedule, you can do it from the comfort of your couch. Since the robot has a Wi-Fi module, its operation can be controlled from a smartphone or tablet on which the AL-KO inTouch application is installed. And through the AL-KO Smart Garden service, the device can be synchronized with some other types of technology and equipment to organize a “smart garden”. You can, for example, make settings so that the automatic watering system turns on immediately after mowing the lawn, or so that the robot returns to the charging station at sunset. Note that with the AL-KO Robolinho 350 W lawn mower, your garden will not only be “smart”, but also serene. The fact is that this robot works very quietly (the noise level does not exceed 60 dB) and only reveals its presence with a slight unobtrusive buzzing.

The letter S in the name of the Bosch Indego S 500 lawn mower means Small, and the numbers show exactly how small the lawn should be for this robot to keep in order - up to 500 m² (divided into three separate mowing zones is allowed). The installation kit that comes with the mower is designed for exactly these lawn sizes (it consists of 150 m of boundary wire, 200 pegs, a base with fasteners, a charger with a three-meter power cable, marking templates and connectors). The role of the power plant is performed by a modern brushless motor (more reliable and less “gluttonous” than conventional brushed electric motors), and the energy source is a 2.5 Ah battery belonging to the Bosch Power for ALL 18 V “family”. The same batteries are used on many battery models Bosch tools and garden equipment. Therefore, if the battery deteriorates, it can easily be replaced with a new one.

During operation, the robot moves at a speed of 1.44 km/h and processes about 45 m² of lawn in one hour. A full cycle of mowing a 500 m² lawn takes about 18 hours (after each hour of operation, the mower goes to the charging base, where it spends the next 60 minutes). Many robotic lawn mowers, when mowing the lawn, move quite chaotically (along almost arbitrary trajectories), but the Bosch Indego S 500 works differently. This machine has a LogiCut function - a mapping system with which the robot remembers the shape and size of the lawn, as well as all its features. Keeping this information in mind, the lawn mower organizes its work in such a way as to move in parallel lines (as a person would do) and cut all the grass strip by strip, without missing a single piece of it. Each time you turn it on, the work plan is built anew, so the trajectories are always different - this avoids the appearance of stripes on the lawn. The mower can cut grass at a height of 30, 40 or 50 mm from the ground level. To change the cutting height by one step, just press the button located next to the control panel.

The robot is configured and programmed using buttons on the panel (for its “brother” Bosch Indego S+ 500, which has the same technical characteristics, this can be done using a smartphone on which a special Bosch application is installed). You can program the lawn care schedule manually or, completely trusting the electronic “brains” of the lawn mower, turn on the AUTO Calendar function - the smart machine will independently select the most suitable mowing cycle. Using the same panel, you can set up equipment locking (in case of theft) and an alarm system.