To get the best results from your mower, competent installation of this wire is an essential but arduous chore.
If being tangled in meters upon meters of high specification wire is not for you, you may be wondering if there is a robotic lawnmower without a perimeter wire.
Perimeter wire is the mainstream method of navigation for robotic mowers
Perimeter wire has been demonstrated to provide a reliable and robust navigation system for robotic mowers that is reproducible across any size and shape of lawn.
It is also
very affordable, meaning that robotic mowers are accessible to a greater number of homeowners.
This wire has a conductive copper center that is connected to the robotic mower’s charging station. When switched on, the charging station transmits a unique signal that travels around the length of the boundary wire.
The signal emanates through the wire so that the robotic mower can know where its boundary is and use the signal to navigate as it mows.
Aside from disconnection or a break in the wire, there is very little that can disrupt this system.
Installing perimeter wire can be tricky
However, the wire has to be correctly installed and kept intact or the mower will not operate properly, especially at the boundaries of the lawn.
Errors in the installation of perimeter wire are common and can lead to the mower failing to operate or inadequately mowing areas like edges and narrow passages.
If a raccoon, rabbit, or deer becomes partial to your wire and takes a bite, the whole perimeter fails and has to be reinstalled…
It’s easy to see why folks are looking for an alternative to perimeter wire
But it is hard to avoid as all the leading manufacturers of robotic mowers are using this technology. Its reliability means that the alternatives to perimeter wire have to compete with the accuracy and ease of navigation and technologies that can achieve this are not commercially widespread as yet.
Sensors
Senors are already used to carry out a wide range of functions in a robotic mower, including the detection of obstacles and rain.
Zucchetti Centro Sistemi SpA, creators of a robotic lawnmower that operates without a perimeter wire has already achieved the move to use these sensors to help a robot mow effectively wire-free.
Sensor-based robotic technologies use factors like humidity to distinguish between grass and hard surfaces.
The activation of these sensors prompts the mower to mow in a different direction. Despite its simplicity, sensor-based mowing has been demonstrated to be effective for most lawns. However, as it uses humidity, it may struggle in wet weather, or near ponds.
2. GPS-RTK by Belrobotics
One of Europe’s leading robotics companies has developed a professional robotic mower that is perimeter wire-free.
It uses a form of assisted GPS known as real-time kinematic GPS that has higher accuracy than standard satellite navigation. Learn more in this informative video:
But boundary wire adds complexity to setting up robotic lawnmowers
It’s easy to understand why you would want to know if all robot lawnmowers need a boundary wire as installing it can be a real headache.
This is because the boundary wire has to be precisely installed; mistakes will mean that the mower does not mow adequately or may even fail to operate.
With large or complex lawns, it’s easy to get things wrong. Plus you can make mistakes when securing boundary wire with pegs, stage, beneath stones, or even by burial.
If that wasn’t enough, just a single break in the wire anywhere along its course brings your robotic mower to a standstill.
Wildlife chewing on the wire, yardwork, or vigorous play in the backyard can easily do this. The break has to be located and repaired with a connector, or the entire wire needs to be reinstalled.
Real-time kinematic GPS corrects errors in GPS so a mower can mow accurately
This is an assisted form of GPS that provides centimeter accuracy compared to standard GPS that can be out of position by several meters which is unacceptable for a robotic lawnmower.
Real-time kinematic GPS (RTK GPS) uses the navigation technology used by combine harvesters and other agricultural machinery to get your lawn mowed accurately.
RTK GPS uses a base station that helps the mower orient itself without requiring a boundary wire. It can then use an onboard GPS transceiver to navigate according to a mapped outline of the lawn.
Mapping is simply a method of outlining the area to be mowed by a robot
Rather than relying on the strict boundary of a perimeter wire, mowers can use novel mapping technology to learn the layout of the lawn and plot the most efficient and ordered course for completing the mowing.
Boundary Beacons
This method of mapping an area to be mowed by a robotic mower involves mapping the area to be mowers using multiple location beacons that act as reference points.
These points can be used to orientate the mower to a map image of the lawn that is stored in the robotic mower, along with precise geographic coordinates for the reference points.