Too hot to mow? I tested a robot lawn mower with no boundary wire (and now it’s on sale)

ZDNET’s key takeaways

• The Eufy E15 Robotic Mower for yards as much as 0.2 acres is often $2,300, whereas the Eufy E18 covers as much as 0.3 acres and prices $2,600, although each are at present on sale
• This robotic mower makes use of visible recognition, AI algorithms, and 3D sensors to differentiate the boundaries of a garden and keep away from obstacles in actual time
• Whereas it is good for smaller yards, I would suggest it for fenced-in, flat yards, as it might get caught on uneven terrain.

The Eufy E15 is at present 39% off, accessible for $1,400, whereas the E18 model is $1,600.

Mowing the grass could be a bitter tablet for a lot of who could take pleasure in a manicured garden however not essentially the method main as much as it. I usually benefit from the time and train I get whereas mowing my garden, however after switching to a robot mower final yr, I can truthfully say it has been months since I’ve used a standard mower.

And identical to there are various kinds of yards, there are various kinds of robotic mowers to look after them. Mowers usually want a boundary wire alongside the perimeter of the grass to remain inside an space, whereas others include an RTK antenna for satellite tv for pc navigation.

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Nevertheless, I have been testing the Eufy E15 Robot Mower, which requires neither of those options, and I have been fairly impressed with the expertise powering it.

No boundary wire

I first noticed the Eufy E15 at CES in January, and as a fan of the model for safety and robotic vacuums, I used to be already trying ahead to testing it.

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However what impressed me probably the most is that this mower does away with the necessities for boundary wire and antennas, as a substitute counting on a mix of superior sensors, cameras, and synthetic intelligence (AI) algorithms to navigate your yard.

The Eufy E15 robotic mower navigates very similar to a robotic vacuum. This, I consider, is the way forward for robotic mower expertise. Finally, we might like much less invasiveness and extra outcomes from our smart devices. So, having a robotic that autonomously mows your yard with out worrying about inserting an antenna excellent or burying boundary wire alongside the sides of your property is right.

That stated, such an environment friendly expertise is neither superior nor inexpensive sufficient to turn into the usual.

Struggled to mow my uneven garden

Whereas the Eufy E15’s mapping and impediment avoidance expertise is spectacular, the robotic struggled to mow my garden effectively. My yard is fenced in, however there’s quite a lot of uneven terrain, a few poorly outlined backyard beds, and a steep hill that results in a wooded space on the again. There’s additionally a big deck below which some robotic mowers have been trapped, and bushes alongside the perimeters of my home.

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My yard is like an impediment course for robotic mowers. Whereas the entrance yard is way easier, it is also unfenced, and I did not wish to danger the Eufy E15 touring over to mow my neighbor’s yard, so I set it up out again.

Welp, my flowers

It took the Eufy E15 about two hours to map my whole yard, primarily as a result of it maps by touring round and scanning the realm. Robotic mowers with a buried wire use that to remain inside a fringe, whereas others that use RTK and GNSS require a well-placed antenna and so that you can remotely steer them round their boundary.

The Eufy E15 makes use of neither of those applied sciences. It makes use of Visible Fusion Sensing and Resolution (V-FSD), so it has to bodily journey round your yard to see which areas are grassy and which needs to be ‘no-go’ zones. Then, the Eufy app saves a map of your yard, and also you’re set to go, identical to a robotic vacuum.

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The Eufy app is similar app you employ for Eufy Safety cameras, which could be very handy, as I’ve a Eufy safety system at residence. Very like a robotic vacuum, you may edit the app and set no-go zones, pathways, and grass-cutting zones.

With the ability to set no-go zones makes it simpler for the robotic to keep away from areas of my yard that are not very properly outlined, just like the flower beds talked about above and the hill main as much as the woods. With out manually including these digital boundaries, the robotic mowed over the spring development of my flowers and repeatedly bought caught on the steep hill.

Sensible sufficient

My uneven yard does greatest with an AWD mower just like the Mammotion Luba 2, however this Eufy robotic mower is wise sufficient to search out dips the place it could get caught to save lots of in your map and keep away from them every time it mows. I want not risking having to rescue it and having the ability to rely on my mower not abandoning bushy areas in my yard.

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The app permits you to customise a lot of the Eufy E15’s mowing talents. You’ll be able to set path instructions, grass top, edge spacing, path spacing, journey and blade pace, schedules, rain detection, and the amount and language for the robotic’s prompts. The Eufy E15 may also be managed with the app like an RC automobile, and you may ring it to search out it when you may’t bodily see it.

ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation

The Eufy E15 robotic mower is ideal for even-terrained, fenced-in yards. That is the proper robotic mower in case you have a easy, comparatively small grassy yard with no steep slopes and a bodily perimeter round it. That is true even when your yard has a paved or concrete patio, timber, and well-defined backyard beds.

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This mower is wise sufficient to keep away from these obstacles and autonomously mark them as no-go zones within the Eufy app. It is also able to navigating round altering environments, like a pet that crosses in entrance of it, or round toys that weren’t on the yard the day earlier than. It is also confirmed good sufficient to keep away from going into the bushes round my residence and even below the deck, which solely the Mammotion Luba 2 has successfully prevented.