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Boundary wire, RTK, LiDAR or vision?
A robot mower's navigation decides whether it works on your yard. Here's how each approach finds its way, what you install, and what makes it fail.
| Type | How it works | What you install | Struggles with | Checked example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boundary wire | A low-voltage wire around the lawn's edge creates a signal the mower stays inside. | Wire and stakes along every edge and around beds — a day's work, or a dealer install. | Changing the layout later; wire breaks from edging or digging. | Husqvarna 435X AWD |
| RTK satellite | GPS corrected to centimeter accuracy by a reference station or a network service. You draw boundaries in an app. | A reference station with open sky (some models include one), or rely on network RTK coverage. | Heavy tree canopy and tall buildings that block satellites. | Husqvarna 410 iQ (EPOS) |
| LiDAR | A spinning or solid-state laser maps surroundings and locates the mower against them. | Usually nothing beyond the charging station. | Wide-open lawns with few features to "see"; heavy rain and debris on the sensor. | Navimow i215 LiDAR |
| Vision | Cameras recognize lawn edges and obstacles. Almost always combined with another method. | Nothing extra. | Low light, glare, and lawns whose edges blend into ground cover. | Part of Mammotion LUBA 3 AWD and Yarbo |
| Fusion | Two or three of the above, so one covers for another's weak spot. | Depends on the components. | Price and setup complexity. | LUBA 3 AWD (LiDAR + RTK + vision) |
Which should you choose?
- Open lawn, gentle slopes: RTK or LiDAR. Both work; pick on price, warranty and service.
- Some trees: LiDAR or fusion. Put an RTK station where it sees the most sky.
- Heavy canopy: a wire, or a fusion mower — and expect to tune problem spots. No independent test we trust has yet measured canopy performance on US lawns.
- Steep slopes: navigation matters less than traction. Look for all-wheel drive and the slope rating at the boundary, which is often lower than inside the lawn (Husqvarna's 410 iQ: 45% inside, 15% at the boundary).
Questions to ask before buying
- Is a reference station included, or do I rely on a network service — and does that service have a fee after year one?
- What happens when signal drops: does it stop, return to base, or keep mowing on another sensor?
- Does it need cellular service for theft tracking, and what does that cost later? (Mammotion includes 3 years of 4G on the LUBA 3.)
- Is the brand affected by the FCC robot rule for future models?
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