That machine creates a virtual map by letting you manually steer it around the perimeter of your yard. Once everything is configured, it takes over mowing duties on a schedule.
Earlier this year, I replaced my battery-powered push mower with an iPhone-controlled robot lawn mower.
Anthbot M9 uses an RTK reference station for positioning. Its setup process had me manually steering the mower around the perimeter from my iPhone to create the initial map. TerraMow’s cameras also enable one of my favorite features. The iPhone app can show you a live view of exactly what the mower sees while it works. It is not a feature you need for autonomous mowing, but it makes the robot more interesting and occasionally helps explain why it slowed down or avoided something. Anthbot M9 does not provide an equivalent camera view. TerraMow has one particularly good twist on that last feature. In addition to traditional left and right virtual controls, its app offers a one-handed joystick mode. You can hold your iPhone normally and guide the mower with your thumb. After using both systems, I prefer TerraMow’s camera-based approach for most people.
Those issues were manageable. In return, TerraMow V1000 delivered simpler setup, dependable autonomous mowing, a fascinating live camera view, and the best manual controls I’ve used in a robot mower app.
