- Runs on rechargeable battery--eliminates the need for oil and gas
- Mows 2,500 - 3,200 square feet on a single charge
- Features a 21-inch mowing radius
- Includes built-in safety features, manual remote controller, and instructional video
- This item is not for sale in Catalina Island
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Product Description
Amazon.com Review
The Robomower is convenient, easy, robotic, and clean--and it's a great conversation piece. It's no lightweight; in fact, it takes two people to remove the machine from the box when it arrives. Although the mower isn't complicated to operate, getting the system set up in your yard can take most of an afternoon. However, the included instructional video and well-written manual make the job easier. The biggest part of the task is stringing the perimeter wire around your yard, marking the boundaries the Robomower is to stay within. When it's mowing, the machine senses the perimeter wire and uses three mulching blades to cut down everything inside the wire. The mulching blades mean you don't need to bag or rake.
The Robomower's safety features eliminate any chance of the evil-robot-run-amok outcome. It won't run at all if it's flipped over with the blades exposed. Likewise, it turns tail and backs off if its soft 360-degree bumpers encounter any foreign object (like a pet or toy or favorite rose bush). It's quiet compared to other lawn mowers, but because it takes longer to get the job done than a human with a walk-behind mower, what noise there is lasts longer. The mower works best on level yards smaller than 3,200 square feet, with the grass reasonably tame to begin with. It does not work well on hilly or overgrown yards. While it takes a full day to recharge the battery, it a full charge is enough to mow most lawns. All in all, the Robomower is ideal for those of us who always feel like there's something better to do with a weekend afternoon than lawn mowing, or for people with disabilities. --Brian Trinen
From the Manufacturer
The friendly, stress-free way to mow your lawn. The Robomower from Friendly Robotics is a fully-robotic lawnmower that mows your grass so you don't have to. It's convenient, safe, and simple. Easy operation allows use by virtually anyone and can be used in almost any garden and lawn environment. The product comes with all the necessary materials for easy installation. Put the Robomower in the yard and press 'go.' It mows. You don't. The Robomower is convenient and allows you to mow the lawn when you want without the hassle of scheduling lawn services or taking time away from family activities. It's safe. Less human contact and interaction reduces the chances of serious injury associated with power equipment. Easy to install. It operates on a rechargeable battery and can mow 2,500 - 3,200 square feet on a single charge. Features include a 21-inch mowing radius; built-in safety features; manual remote controller, and instructional video.
Customer Reviews
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Mows Your Lawn While You Giggle,
By
This review is from: Friendly Robotics RL500 Robomower (Lawn & Patio)
My Robomower does indeed do what is is advertised to do. I installed the 16-gauge, single-strand perimeter wire as instructed. It took a lot of pegs (all 200, in fact) to hold down the wire on my uneven bermuda grass lawns. I charged up the mower, and set it loose. I was actually giggling as it ran around the perimeter wire, then proceeded to mow my lawn while I sipped on an ice-cold soda in the shade. At first glance the robomower seems to be a little on the cheap side. But I think Friendly Robotics spent the money where it does the most good--the motors. This thing was able to motor out of some pretty uneven spots on my lawns. Battery life was better than advertised, but this may be due to the relatively small size of my lawns because the mower makes a lot of stops to change direction. The user interface is well thought-out, and the user manual and video provided with the mower make set up straight forward. I think anyone capable of programming a VCR would have no trouble setting up the robomower. My only criticisms so far are: 1) It would be nice if the perimeter switch were weatherproof so you could leave it outside; 2) A "pigtail" of heavier wire or more heavily insulated wire going between the perimeter wire and switch would make it less likely to get eaten by a string trimmer, and 3) a more sophisticated charger, that could switch between fast and trickle charge, would be nice. I think a charger like this is available from the company. These are pretty minor gripes. All in all, it performs as advertised. And hey, when was the last time you giggled while somebody else (or something else) mowed your lawn? ONE YEAR UPDATE I've owned Robe (my cute little name for it) for a year now. Here's the scoop: Problems: Only one. One wire in the pigtail coming from the controller pulled out. I fixed it in 5 minutes with my soldering iron. Oh the joy of being a boy. What have I learned? Battery life has remained the same over the course of the year. Robe does not like mowing wet grass, and is more likely to get stuck on my bumpy Bermuda grass lawn if he tries to mow early in the morning. However, since neither Robe nor I are "morning people," this is seldom a problem. Robe does not like long grass--when I go three weeks between mowing, especially if the grass is wet, Robe is a little more likely to get stuck. However, these are pretty paltry complaints. I have spent much time watching the little mushroom roam my lawn trying to figure out its behavior. I am very impressed with its programming. If it is mowing the edge, for example, and it gets stuck, it will often back up, motor into the main lawn area, and automatically go into regular mowing mode. When it gets stuck in the middle of the lawn, it will try to go back and forth, or turn, to unstick itself. Pretty impressive. I usually plan on watching Robe while it does the edge--this is when it is most likely to encounter an obstacle. Robe's mushroom shape helps it motor under shrubs to get the edge of a lawn where you would have trouble with a normal lawnmower. I try to work in the yard when Robe is at work in case he gets stuck, but if I mow my lawns every week he might get stuck one in three times or less. I will usually check on him after an hour or so, and if he is stuck it is no problem to restart him. He probably wouldn't get stuck at all if I really took care of my yard, but that is another story. Robe is at least as smart as my cat Bigz, and a lot more useful. I am completely satisfied with this product after using it for a year.
30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An Alien Comes to my House,
By
This review is from: Friendly Robotics RL500 Robomower (Lawn & Patio)
I expected some ridicule for purchasing a robot mower. The loss of what little exercise mowing gave me, plus the fact that no one I knew had ever seen, much less bought a robot mower, seemed to indicate I should be focusing on more traditional ways of clipping the grass. Only my penchant for gadgets got me off the hook of being labelled eccentric. My Toro was starting to use some oil, and smoke a little on the slopes of my lawn. My wife had started to mow the lawn regularly this season, and was having trouble starting the gas mower at times. The Robo mower seemed a small risk. I was able to use the ROBO mower right out of the box. It performed as advertised, with a few minor exceptions. The exceptions included an inability to get any kind of a straight line while using the mower in the manual mode. The touchpad used for controlling the direction in manual was extremely insensitive, and the rearward turns were confusing( I wasn't sure which of us was confused, me or the mower). A call to Technical Service confirmed that I was not the only one having problems with the manual steering. A very friendly and informative young man told me that there was a brainstorming session in the works, and I would be upgraded with whatever came from the solution. I found the instructions very well written. I found, to my chagrin, that when they say a 15 degree slope, they mean exactly that. The mower actually will do small slopes, but does not like anything over 15 degrees. The ruler that comes with the installation kit (used in placing the perimeter wire) is very accurate in staying within the capabilities of the mower. I needed to make only two small corrections to the wire placement (both operator-induced), and the machine proceeded to do it's stuff. It took no time at all to gather a small, admiring crowd. I am currently running a contest to name the mower (Col. Mustard, of Clue fame, is one entry, and Old Yeller another). I have also had requests to add eyes, ears, and a tail. The Gulden's mustard color is not terribly attractive, but perhaps designer colors will come soon. The instructions also mandate a minimum width of seven feet for the mower to operate. Anything smaller requires human intervention using the manual controller (see first paragraph). It would be nice if the mower were able to mow in smaller areas. Having said all that, I found have found the limitations easy to live with. The mower does a nice job mowing; if it takes twice as long to mow, at least I can watch from the comfort of my hammock. The mower is extremely quiet. The instructions say a maximum of 85 decibels. I do not believe it is anywhere that loud. The mower passed within one foot of a resting dog, and elicited no reaction other than a yawn. I can't hear anything more than low hum when it is further than thirty feet from me. I ran it after dark one evening, and the lady next door (close by with the windows open) heard a very low hum that she could not identify, and couldn't believe I was mowing my lawn. I paid less for this mower than what I paid for my Toro walk behind several years ago. I get my exercise other ways, and don't pollute as with a standard mower. I like it very much so far (three weeks), and my wife likes it as well (no pulling on starter ropes). I would expect to get one for my father-in-law next spring. I would not hesitate to recommend the Friendly Robotics mower to anyone familiar with the advertised limitations.
24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
RL500 in Florida,
By A Customer
This review is from: Friendly Robotics RL500 Robomower (Lawn & Patio)
Location: FloridaGrass Type: St. Augustine Season: Winter Model: RL500 Affectionate Name: Bot-Bot Well, I have had Bot-Bot for a couple of weeks now and I love it. I originally bought Bot-Bot to do the backyard while I did the front, but it is so easy that I have now put boundary wire around my whole yard (four separate zones). Putting down the boundary wire is a breeze. I could not get Bot-Bot to run initially. It kept complaining about being too close to the boundary wire. So, I called up tech support and they had me going in less than 2 minutes. There was some internal configuration for my model that needed to be set. The biggest problem I did have was Bot-Bot getting stuck in thick grass, so I had heard that the folks over at Friendly Robotics had better tires for it. So, I called them up and a few days later I had a new set of knobby tires (...). I slapped the new tires on and there is no way Bot-Bot is getting stuck now. It is awesome. I couldn't believe the tires made such a huge difference. You can even run it at night! None of my neighbors can even hear it (Yes, I asked them all.). You will meet everyone in your neighborhood due to the Robomower, guaranteed. Now I have to see how it will run in the summertime.
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