Comparison of Robotic Mowers

[jzawacki]

How could it learn to steer straight on slopes; wouldn't bumps throw it off?  How come no one has ever built one this way?  I haven't even seen it done as an experiment  (maybe one is out there and I never saw it; just curious...)

If you are referring to lidar, there are lots of info on it used in robotic/autonomous applications.  It was even used on the TV show "Prototype This" LINK.  A quick search on youtube turns up this: which is a robot navigating a corridor using only lidar.  The only question I'm not sure about is cost.  I know a system with 1" accuracy at highway speeds cost around $75,000..   A bit overkill for a lawnmower though.

[AGR]

Here is where iRobot would clean up. 1) Deep pockets for research and customer service. They would plan not for the typical 12'X12' Italian flat lawn but for a suburban American lawn with inclines and trees. Also, maybe more than one person doing customer service. 2) Deep pockets for advertising and marketing. The idea is genius and workable, no reason not to have one. 3) A roomba spends its time trying to figure out how to get around problems, either by going around it or by going back and forth to extract a large part or by shutting off the sweepers for a while etc. The Lawnbott spends its time trying to figure out how to stop; either by bump error, blade error, out of bounds error, tilt error or what ever. That is 3 major paradigm shifts in thinking that iRobot would have in its favor.

[RobotLady]

If you are referring to lidar, there are lots of info on it used in robotic/autonomous applications.  It was even used on the TV show "Prototype This" LINK.  A quick search on youtube turns up this: which is a robot navigating a corridor using only lidar.  The only question I'm not sure about is cost.  I know a system with 1" accuracy at highway speeds cost around $75,000..   A bit overkill for a lawnmower though.
[/quote]

I'm not sure how an approach that uses light will perform in the dirty environment of a blade chopping grass.  Until a low cost technology enabler becomes available, I am doubtful a solution is on the horizon.  You mentioned the 1" accuracy system at highway speeds, would the technology be any cheaper at 2 miles per hour (the speed of the mower)?

[Jerry]

RobotLady,

I sound like a liar because I do not know how I stumbled onto the Husqvarna Zucchetti lawsuit now I can not find it again. If I do find it again later I will post a link to it.

I am wandering why you have a problem with the Automowers mowing height. I know that when the LB3500 came out it had a higher max cutting height compared to the other models and just recently they have increased the height even more but the other Autonomous models have been around as long as the Automowers and they have not increased the cutting height. The cutting height has actually been lowered because of the added blade guard. For example a while ago I measured my LB2150 max mowing height and it is slightly above 2.25 inches and the Automowers max mowing height is 2.4 inches.

[Jerry]

I have recently received Lawnbott pricing from someone who has a bad wheel motor and is considering either replacing the old style wheel motor or upgrade the unit to the new style and this is the prices the dealer sent him(This is not a promotion for Robot Authority RobotLady listed the same price for the upgrade) . Also I have got some pricing information for the Automowers.

Forgot to mention.  In our phone conversation, the wheel motors, IMS42, sell for $ 299.95.  I checked with my distributor to see if we have any IMS35’s left.  They said they might, but will not know until next Monday.  The cost is lower for the older motors, if available.   Your cost would be $ 230.00 plus shipping.
The only issue is installation.  Don’t know if you would like to do it yourself.  No instructions come with the motor, I would have to walk you through it over the phone.  Also might need a digital photo of your wheel motors, so that I can verify what model.  We had several models over the years and want to make sure the IMS35 wouldn’t have an issue if we mix models.


The upgraded robot that you would receive, after the process, is essentially the new model, LB3210.  We started selling the LB3210 last year. 
The upgrade process requires shipment of your LB3200 to my location for retrofit.  It consists of the following:

-       Body Set (Chassis) $ 180.00 value.
-       2 Microswitches $ 100.00 value.
-       4 Wheel Bearings $ 42.64 value.  2 Gaskets $ 1.59, 4 Covers  $ 39.80 value
-       2 Wheel Motors (IMS 42, Latest heavy-duty models) $ 599.90 value
-       2 Back Wheels (New design) $ 155.95 value
-       Battery Brackets to fit new chassis $ 19.90 value
-       Blade Motor (New model, FISE) $ 395.00 value

    Total Value if purchased separately: $ 1,534.78

 LABOR CHARGE $ 100.00 value, done by the Robot Authority for this promotion, FREE
I will also upgrade the firmware to the latest version.   If your LB3200 has the 2008 version or earlier, this new version will increase the number of zones you can program from 3 to 4.

Cost for LB3210 Upgrade: $ 795.00


My name is David and I handle the Husqvarna Automower line. Currently the Automower 230ACX carries a 2 year warranty. An extended warranty is not offered by Husqvarna but through a third party dealer. I am currently waiting to receive their 2010 warranty price breakdown. I don't push the extended warranties, we see very few mowers ever needing service. I currently have two mowers on my property that have been running for almost 5 years, service free. We have many customers with ten year old mowers that have never been serviced. It is an excellent product that has been extensively tested for many years. As far as cost of major repairs; Wheel motor will run you about $170, Blade motor is about $180. I have only had one wheel motor go bad, it was on a 8 year old mower. I have never seen a blade motor go bad. There are no rain sensors, they are sealed and meant to be outside all season. The mowers are designed to cut, rain or shine. Hope this helps, feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns. Thank you and have a great day.

I don't think I have to remind you that the Automowers motors are brushless very affordable and have never had reliability issues. Pretty amazing that the Lawnbotts have new motors that still aren’t brushless but they felt the need to raise the replacement price. I know every company has a mark up on there individual part prices that if you can find a comparable part at a store it would cost considerably less. But like it has been said before on here there is no reason for the  Lawnbotts to have $50.00 motors that they sell for $300.00.

[jzawacki]

-       2 Microswitches $ 100.00 value.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME!

I don't push the extended warranties, we see very few mowers ever needing service. I currently have two mowers on my property that have been running for almost 5 years, service free. We have many customers with ten year old mowers that have never been serviced. It is an excellent product that has been extensively tested for many years. As far as cost of major repairs; Wheel motor will run you about $170, Blade motor is about $180.

Gee, that's funny.. For some reason, I would expect that to be said about the Lawnbott series of mowers as well.  I'm becoming a borderline disgruntled customer.  Being 1.5 months since I tried to order new brushes for my blade motor with the distributor telling me that KA doesn't have and update and KA not even responding to my e-mails.

[RobotLady]

Jerry, FYI - there is nothing better about the new blade motor.  It has not proven to be more reliable than the old style.

The deal about the mowing height is not a big deal if you like short grass.  The people we've talked to in the public want the grass longer.  It's probably 80% that want the grass height 3" or more.  That's why we hesitate to take on Husqvarna when they do not seem to have plans to increase the grass height.

Also, if anyone needs brushes for motors, call me (847) 960-8520.  Some brushes for some motors are available for purchase by phone.  We are also working on potentially fabricating brushes that are not available.

BTW - I also am not thrilled with Lawnbott's motor prices, but do keep in mind they come with a one year warranty.  That's part of the cost.

PS Who is David?

[Jerry]

RobotLady,

David works for a business that sells Automowers called Peggnet LLC www.automowernj.com

[jzawacki]

I'll be honest, I've had people ask my why I have my LB3200 cutting the grass "so high"..  Personally, I would set the height as high as any bot would mow.  What do I care, I'm not doing the work (and that is what I told them as well).

But, the problem is real max height vs listed max height.  We all know the LB3200 ( and 3500, if I remember correct) doesn't actually mow as high as the specs list.  Does the Robomower and Automower both cut to their spec listed height?

[RobotLady]

We have not tested the height of Robomow or Automower yet.  I don't think we have the wrong height listed on our web site.  If you find it wrong, let me know and I will fix it.

If you see it wrong on other sites, send me the links and I will get KA to fix it.  Having wrong and inconsistent information on web sites causes a lot of confusion and frustration.  KA responded to my last request to fix another dealer's site, so I think they will if I ask them to about this also.

[Jerry]

RobotLady,

I sound like a liar because I do not know how I stumbled onto the Husqvarna Zucchetti lawsuit now I can not find it again. If I do find it again later I will post a link to it.

I am wandering why you have a problem with the Automowers mowing height. I know that when the LB3500 came out it had a higher max cutting height compared to the other models and just recently they have increased the height even more but the other Autonomous models have been around as long as the Automowers and they have not increased the cutting height. The cutting height has actually been lowered because of the added blade guard. For example a while ago I measured my LB2150 max mowing height and it is slightly above 2.25 inches and the Automowers max mowing height is 2.4 inches.

Here is a link talking about the patent lawsuit http://www.appliancemagazine.com/news.php?article=190&zone=0&first=1

[jzawacki]

As I was doing additional research on the Automower.. I did find out one thing that was kind of an "alarm"..  It appears that it leaves 6" uncut around the parameter that needs to be trimmed.  6" seems like an awful lot.. barely cut-able by a weed trimmer.

And after reading that link.. no wonder it was hard to find.  Neither Lawnbott nor Husqvarna are in it..

[Jerry]

Jzawacki,

That is not entirely true you should download a copy of the Automowers user manual http://lawnandgarden.manualsonline.com/manuals/mfg/husqvarna/automower.html(this is for the 220AC) it explains that you can set how close the unit will follow the wire(you can set it to follow directly on the wire like the Lawnbott if you want). Also there are a lot more features Automower has over the Lawnbott that I didn't get into like when the unit is mowing you can set how far past the wire the mower goes before it stops and turns around to go in another direction, depending on the model you can set up one to two guide wires that go directly to the charging base so that the mower tries to find them first before looking for the perimeter wire to go back to the charging base. The guide wires and possibly the perimeter wire to can be setup so the mower constantly follows the wires at different distances so to eliminate the continuous wear pattern the other mowers cause from following the perimeter wire exactly the same every time to go charge. Another nice feature is that the  mower has five secondary areas(model 230ACX) and it can come out of the charger and follow the wire in ether direction or you can have it follow one of the guide wires for any of the secondary areas. I will stop there for now I know with this and previous posts I sound like a Automower spokes person but I just can't help it.

[jzawacki]

PLEASE don't stop.  This kind of information is exactly what is "hard to find" when it comes to comparing the mowers that are available.  The only reason I mentioned the 6" distance was because someone on a "TV program" mentioned it.. That's what I get for listening to someone that you know never even used the thing.  They probably set it up on a 10'x10' carpet and let it run for the show.. and then never saw it again, let alone actually read the manual. 

Thanks for the info, I believe it is extremely valuable.  And the customizability (is that even a word?) seems pretty awesome.

[Jerry]

I think it is weird that Husqvarna has sold more robotic mowers than any other company but it's the hardest to find good information about them and I can't find any forums for them either(I guess it's good that there isn't a lot of people complaining about the same problems). Another thing about forums Robomower has the largest forum for robotic mowers on yahoo groups.