Does anyone have much experience with robot lawnmowers? I’ve been considering one, but trying to find info now involves digging through a lot of AI slop.
Id prefer one that plays nicely with HA, as well as not internet dependant. It’s also for a small garden (50m²).
The best bet I’ve seen so far is to modify a yardforce mower with open mower. What other (good) options are there?
I use a Mammotion Mini for my backyard which I got at a pretty big discount during Memorial Day sales. I don’t have HA, but it seems there’s some work going on for integration: https://community.home-assistant.io/t/mammotion-luba-integration/604662/63.
It does require internet access though, and I put it in my isolated guest vlan to be safe. I haven’t tried running it without an internet connection yet. Obviously this doesn’t meet all your requirements, but I can at least attest that the mower itself is pretty good. Good luck on your search!
The Home-Assistant integration for Mammotion works very well. It’s a local integration and you can block internet access for the mower (and base station) afterwards if you like to.
Definitely worth looking into. I get nervous of online required hardware. It has a tendency to brick.
I have 0.2 acres with a Husqvarna auto mower.
Frankly I don’t really “manage” it, it just mows and occasionally I get a notification if it gets stuck or something.
So I haven’t really had reason to care about HA or Internet monitoring of it, though it does have a feature to park off it has internet module and forecast shows rain.
But anyway, mine requires a boundary wire and that breaks and is really annoying. I’d hope a wire free solution works well by now.
I’ve heard the wires are a pain and tend to break. I’m definitely erring towards one using GPS.
I’ve had 2 different brands, and once the wire is placed just right, it just works.
Placing the wire is not that much work in the first place, and then some minor adjustments in the first few days or weeks to get around corners better. Easy.
For me, wire breaks happen every couple of months.
Some utility digs into the easement, maybe breaks it then, but maybe somehow nicks it so it corrodes and falls randomly later. Sometimes I’ve no idea how it would have broken after finding the break.
My lawn is fully enclosed property, so the only breakage is caused by myself 🤦
Your mileage may vary… I’ve used mine for 5ish years, no problems with the wire apart from seasonal stripping and re-terminating the ends due to corrosion. My neighbour have up on his wire based one after a few seasons because the wire somehow broke over every winter.
In addition to GPS based one, I believe there are also some camera based ones these days.
I want one, but I can’t justify spending so much money on avoiding cutting my grass. I’ve not seen a decent option within my budget (max of like $400) and I doubt I will for a long time to come.
There are options around that price, but they have issues.
Worx Landroid, there are unofficial API bridges for MQTT and I’m pretty sure HA too.
Mine is fully integrated in my NodeRed home automation
Yep, I use the unofficial plugin for Home Assistant and it’s honestly better than the official phone app! 💯
Which one do you have, and how have you found performance? Their prices seem in the sweet spot.
The Vision AI S250 seems like an excellent option @£499
WR147E.1 with about all the options added : ultrasonic sensor, radio link, magnetic sensor and a pair of stainless steel wheels spikes.
After 2 years I’m still very happy with it
If your garden is that size then a boundary wire system is very manageable. You got any tricky elements? Ponds, step slopes etc?
Also while I’m fully in favour of HA integration that is going to push the price up. But what’s the scenario you want that for? Robomowers are a good fire and forget application. No integration needed, but if you really must there are some easy modifications involving the rain sensor that can give some limited control.
I think there are some good YouTube comparisons out there but haven’t looked for six months.
My neighbor has one. It seems to do a decent job cutting the grass and hasn’t mulched their dog yet.
Unless the dog is the size of a literal rat (even those pocket-sized chihuahuas are too tall), the mower is completely unable to harm it beyond gently bumping it to it.
I have a sunseeker x7 and love it. No HA integration, but I haven’t found a need for integrating yet, anyway. Set up the boundaries and schedule in the manufacturer app and let it be. Rain detection is built in and the all wheel drive is surprisingly effective.
That looks good, but is completely budget blowing for my little garden. 😩
