2024 is going to be the year of the lawnbot
Growing up, I assumed we were going to have robots everywhere by the 2000s. Cleaning our houses, cooking our food, mowing our lawns. They’d be cheap, plentiful, and give us time to do everything that we wanted to do instead of what we had to do.
Alas, while we do have a fair amount of bots (some that even have enough personality to star in a sci-fi epic of their own), most of them are expensive enough that there’s little chance of them becoming plentiful.
Robot lawn mowers are especially egregious examples of this. While they’re quite capable, they also cost thousands of dollars—as much or more than your typical riding mower and way more than a high-end battery-powered push mower. Sweat equity aside, it’s hard to justify the extra cost.
That’s why I was thrilled to see that Segway (yes, the weird scooter people) was bringing their less-expensive, visual and satellite-guided robomower, the i110N, to the States. In fact, pre-orders just opened up on Amazon for a cool $1,299. In a market niche where $3,000 is a “bargain” it’s an almost unheard of price for a robomower this sophisticated.
What Is It?
The Segway Navimow i110N is a demure RTK and Vision-guided automated mower that can mow up to .25 acres without having to lay perimeter wire. It uses AI to assist in mapping, can identify up to 20 different types of common yard objects to avoid, and will automatically recharge and continue mowing between charges. It even modifies the direction it’s mowing every cycle (like you should, but don’t) to keep your grass healthy.
It has a manual dial to set the cut length, from 2-inches all the way to 3.6-inches (my St. Augustine grass thanks you) and a 7-inch cutting wheel with three small blades (they’re pretty much razor blades—as is standard for robomowers—but they get the job done).
It comes with a charging station but you can also accessorize with a garage canopy to protect your mower (though the i110N has a IP66 waterproof rating so you don’t really have to worry) and a 4G module for connectivity and theft notifications.
The base package, though, comes with everything you need to start mowing. What doesn’t it come with?
Look Ma, No Wires
That’s right, unlike just about every other name-brand robomower at this price point, the i110N doesn’t need you to bury and maintain a boundary wire around your property. This saves days of initial labor, trial and error testing, and annual maintenance.
Of course, “wire-free” doesn’t mean “unbox and go.” You still have to find a suitable place for the charging station and satellite receiver, then make sure they’re within reach of two outlets (each has to be powered).
As is the case with satellite-assisted, wire-free robomowers, you’ll have to set up a satellite receiver with a clear view of the sky. The included instructions demonstrate how to ground mount it but unless you live in a completely denuded area, there will likely be a tree (or three, in my case) blocking the signal. Even mounted on my handy 20-foot pole, the in-app signal strength indicator barely gave my installation a passing score. But it did let me move on. I very much appreciated the signal strength information in the app itself. It gave me better insight into where to place everything.
Setup of the charging station was slightly frustrating, involving me having to pull the charging station farther away from the wall of my house than I expected. But once the app was happy with my base station placement, I was able to start mapping (even with my poor GPS signal…more on why in a second).
I walked the mower around my boundary, operating it like an overgrown RC car from the app, not bothering to set internal boundaries around planters and mailbox posts. The small size of the i110N really works in its favor here as well. Whereas other bots had issues cutting in narrow areas, Segway’s bot can squeeze itself in almost anywhere.
The i110N can just see where to not mow and, instead of ramming into things (or driving up onto obstacles as other mowers I’ve tested have done) it knows to avoid that area, picking a path around it. The onboard visual navigation even allows the mower to keep working when it loses RTK signal.
This is where the visual navigation really shines. This one feature greatly reduces reliance on weak satellite signals, instead punting back to onboard visual processing when signal is lost. It has the potential to catapult robot lawnmowers into “household appliance” category as opposed to “technological novelty.”
The i110N can even help you create the boundary. The app will let you know when the bot can see a boundary (like along a driveway or road) and you can let it forge ahead on its own, laying down the line that it sees. You can take control back at any time (which is good, the technology isn’t foolproof) but it mostly works as advertised.
Speaking of the app, it’s far friendlier and accessible than any that I’ve used so far. It’s clear where to access everything and the calls to action and technical help are clear. If you want to find information about the bot, base station, or satellite module, it’s easily discovered. Editing your map is a cinch as well. Just tell your bot where to start from and guide it through the new boundary line. Save and you’re done. It’s far better than I’ve seen on other mower’s apps which employ either you having to guess where to redraw the lines on your phone or redoing the map entirely. The app also provides your connected mower with OTA updates.
But Can It Mow?
Like other robomowers, you’ll want to set a frequent schedule. With several small blades and a 7-inch cutting path, it takes time for the Navimow to do its job and tall grass only taxes the batteries. It’s much better at maintaining a short lawn than chewing through overgrown grass.
The first day, I came away impressed. The Navimow avoided planters, didn’t try to assault my mailbox post, and navigated my heavily-rutted rear lawn almost as well as rear-wheel drive mowers I’ve tested.
Almost, but not perfect. The combination of a 30-degree slope (the i110N’s max) and sandy soil often proved too much for the little bot. Of course, I intentionally extended the boundary into places where it might fail so that I could test its max capabilities. With all of the drive power in the large, thin front wheels, the i110N is prone to getting stuck on slippery inclines, where it will dig itself into any wet, exposed soil.
While the i110N is smart enough to slow down if the wheels start to slip, you’ll want to time your schedule to avoid morning dew (or post-watering) and map out your boundary accordingly to give the i110N its best chance at success. If you have a relatively flat, well-kept lawn (or create boundaries around potential trouble areas as the app recommends), the i110N is absolutely perfect. It will zip around, keeping the grass trimmed with practically no need for input from you.
After a week of “torture testing” the i110N (during which I had to frequently rescue it from the pond-side slope behind my house), I reworked the boundary to exclude the worst of the incline and the Navimow performed much better. What I really like is the automatic direction change for each mowing session. But if a particular angle just doesn’t work for your lawn, you can exclude it in the app with a tap.
In operation, you’ll have to get really close to the Navimow i110N to hear it actually working. It does have operational beeps and alerts, but you can thankfully turn them off in the app. All you’ll hear is the rumble as the bot goes along rough terrain and the occasional whir of blades. If I wasn’t frequently checking the app, I wouldn’t even know when the mower was running.
Where Can I Get It?
Thankfully, neither does the Navimow
In addition to Amazon, you can also pre-order the i110N directly from Segway. There, they have a slightly less expensive i105N model with a smaller battery that will mow an 1/8 of an acre.
At $999 the i105N is a solid deal, since it has all the same features as the i110N. However, given what I’ve seen of battery life and slope performance on the i110N (the i105N can only handle a 15-degree slope), I’d still recommend paying a bit more for the larger battery (unless you have a truly small lawn).
The price point of Segway’s i-series finally puts robomowers within spitting distance of manual machines (or annual lawn services). The addition of visual navigation makes these robomowers exponentially more reliable than anything out on the market right now. Combined, Segway’s created a bot that could potentially be on everyone’s lawn.
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I’ve been writing about technology, gadgets, and pop culture back before Apple had even thought of the iPhone. I’ve seen the rise and fall (and rise again) of Apple. I’ve watched c-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate…
As a technical writer, I specialize in deciphering the undecipherable, untangling the kraken-like documentation tangles that software companies find themselves in, and teaching users how to successfully navigate their products on the other side. I also enjoy playing in superheroic worlds of my own creation (you can find out more about my fiction endeavors at AnthonyKarcz.com).
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In conclusion, the Segway Navimow i110N is a game-changer in the world of robot lawnmowers. With its advanced features, wire-free operation, and affordable price point, it is set to revolutionize the way we maintain our lawns. If you’re in the market for a reliable and efficient robomower, the i110N is definitely worth considering. Get ready for the year of the lawnbot in 2024!