Robotic lawn mower: how it works

In short: A robotic lawn mower drives autonomously over the lawn, cuts it with rotating blades to a set height, and automatically returns to its charging station when needed. Frequent, regular mowing produces a particularly fine clipping that often stays on the lawn as mulch.

In more detail: Instead of one large blade, most devices use several small, pivot-mounted blades that can give way on contact with obstacles.

In detail

• Boundary wire: A wire laid around the lawn generates a signal that tells the robot the boundaries of the mowing area.
• Modern navigation: Newer models also use GPS or mapping sensors, and some work entirely without a boundary wire.
• Random or systematic driving pattern: Depending on the model, the robotic mower moves seemingly randomly or follows a more efficient, systematic pattern.
• Safety sensors: Lift and tilt sensors immediately stop the blades if the device is lifted or flipped.
• Mulch mowing: The fine clippings usually stay on the lawn as natural fertilizer instead of needing to be collected.
• Weather adaptation: Rain sensors let many models automatically stay in the charging station during wet weather to avoid damage.
• Charging cycles: When the battery is low, the robot returns to the charging station on its own and automatically resumes work afterward (rasen-pflegen).