The Next Generation of Robot Lawn Mowers Do More Than Just Mow

The next batch of robot lawn mowers do so much more than just mow. For the last six months, I have had fun testing robot lawn mowers, and even in that short time, I’ve seen innovation happening. (For instance, Mammotion and Segway finally pushed their lawn printing features live.) I generally keep an eye on new models, and you know precisely what kind of nerd you are when giant yard robots with names like the Mowrator get you psyched.

First generation lawn robots are great for the average lawn

For those of us with suburban or even urban lawns, most robot lawn mowers are just fine. The good ones (and it turns out there are so many bad ones) will handle dips and curves in the lawn, are not deterred by a bump here and there, and can tackle multiple areas of your yard, even crossing walkways and driveways. These robots use a lot of different methodologies from LiDAR to RTK (different positioning technologies), but their goals are the same: to knock down grass that’s under five inches or so to an HOA-acceptable level, and do so reliably on schedule without you having to own or operate a regular mower. Beyond the suburban lawns are pastures that most mowers are not equipped to handle, which is where models like the Yarbo and afore mentioned Mowrator come in.

For bigger lawns or overgrowth, you need a more powerful mower

These new robot lawn mowers are beefier and more powerful—the Mowrator clocks in at 120 pounds, and the Yarbo even more, at 200 pounds. They’re substantially bigger than even the Mammotion Luba 2, the largest of the robot lawn mowers I’d previously tested, at under 40 pounds. You’re not likely to use these bigger models on a small patch of lawn—that would be akin to using a vacuum on a doily. If you’ve got overgrowth anywhere, though, from stubborn weeds to blackberry vines, these machines can eat it up more effectively than a herd of goats, and they seem to do so pretty effortlessly.

Earlier this month, I took the Mowrator out to a field to do the only thing I could think of: mow crop circles into an empty field. I was shocked both at how well it traversed the land, and how fun it was. You don’t have to have a pasture, either. If you’ve got a substantial lawn or anything over 4,000 square feet of land, I could see how bumping up to a heftier model could be worthwhile. Regardless, standard robot lawn mowers, which used to seem so cutting edge to me, now feel a little one-note. They just mow.

The best new features for all seasons

These newer, bigger models have some exciting new features. The Mowrator will collect its own grass clippings, towing them behind the mower, and then dumping them wherever you want them. It also vacuums up leaves, and there’s even a mulch attachment so you can fully blitz the leaves before dumping them. The Yarbo, a more traditional robot mower, is not content to be toted out of storage just for the summer—it can be transformed into a leaf blower, a snowblower, and a snow plow (I actually want snow this winter so I can test it out). What I most look forward to, though, is hitching a wagon to the Yarbo and having the robot tow compost and mulch all over my yard, instead of the Amanda-bot (who is tired). The Yarbo can tow 3,500 pounds and can just “follow you.”

These lawn robots create accessibility

What these newer robot lawn mower models point to is a growing presence of robots in the yard, helping with both labor and accessibility. More importantly, the cost of these robots (the Mowrator starts around $3,000, and the Yarbo around $3,500) can be spread across multiple homes (assuming you get along with your neighbors), which can help make them more affordable. While you may not want to shovel the sidewalk for your whole block, you might not mind letting the machine handle the work, which creates accessible sidewalks and removes labor for those who would struggle to do so. Putting all of that aside, these robot lawn mowers are so much fun to use, making these chores seem a lot less loathsome.