Mammotion is a well regarded name in the world of robot lawn mowers, and it's set to take on heavy hitters like Husqvarna with new tech for greater accuracy and easier setup in small- and medium-sized yards.
The company wants to address the drawbacks with existing navigation technologies that robot mowers use to get around your lawn and avoid obstacles. It notes that Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) positioning systems can be hampered by trees or structures that block satellite signals, while LiDAR tech requires reference objects or a large number of reflection points to ensure precise coverage.
The solution: throw LiDAR and RTK in a blender along with AI-driven vision to create a three-pronged navigation platform. “Whether you have a compact city garden or a sprawling countryside lawn, it delivers high-accuracy mowing in any environment, sunlit or shaded, open or obstructed, flat or hilly,” claims CEO Jayden Wei.
Mammotion promises this will not only provide reliable navigation across a variety of terrains, but also make it easier to set up its Tri-Fusion-equipped mowers without a perimeter wire or base station in sight.
You'll be able to see this tech in action in the recently launched Luba mini AWD LiDAR, which debuted in Europe this June at €2,300 (US$2,680) and can handle lawns up to 1,795 square yards (1,500 sq m).
This model already comes with a 144-beam solid-state LiDAR sensor on board to map your lawn, so it just needs a firmware update to combine the three positioning systems and get cracking.
The Mini's motor delivers 88 W of power, with a cutting width of 200 mm (7.8 in) and grass height range of 20-65 mm (0.8-2.6 in). It'll do 150 minutes and up to 300 square yards (250 sq m) on a full battery, before it automatically heads back to its charging station. It's set to arrive in the US and UK soon. At this price point, it'll go up against Husqvarna's $3,000 Automower 410 iQ, which also promises virtual mapping and slightly more coverage, albeit with a lower capacity battery and a reference station you'll need to set up.
Source: Mammotion
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