This robot mower has no boundary wire or antenna - here's how it handled my yard

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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

  • The Eufy E15 Robot Mower for yards up to 0.2 acres is disposable for $1,600, portion the Eufy E18 covers up to 0.3 acres and costs $2,000
  • This robot mower uses ocular recognition, AI algorithms, and 3D sensors to separate the boundaries of a tract and debar obstacles successful existent time
  • While it's bully for smaller yards, I'd urge it for fenced-in, level yards, arsenic it tin get stuck connected uneven terrain.

Mowing the writer tin beryllium a bitter pill for galore who whitethorn bask a manicured tract but not needfully the process starring up to it. I typically bask the clip and workout I get portion mowing my lawn, but aft switching to a robot mower past year, I tin honestly accidental it's been months since I've utilized a accepted mower.

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And conscionable similar determination are antithetic types of yards, determination are antithetic types of robot mowers to attraction for them. Mowers typically request a bound ligament on the perimeter of the writer to enactment wrong an area, portion others travel with an RTK antenna for outer navigation.

However, I've been investigating the Eufy E15 Robot Mower, which requires neither of these features, and I've been beauteous impressed with the exertion powering it.

No bound wire

I archetypal saw the Eufy E15 astatine CES successful January, and arsenic a instrumentality of the marque for information and robot vacuums, I was already looking guardant to investigating it.

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But what impressed maine the astir is that this mower does distant with the requirements for bound ligament and antennas, alternatively relying connected a operation of precocious sensors, cameras, and artificial quality (AI) algorithms to navigate your yard.

Eufy E15 Robot Mower

The Eufy E15 Robot Mower has a convenient grip connected the backmost and is precise lightweight, which makes it casual to cleanable the blades underneath.

Maria Diaz/ZDNET

The Eufy E15 robot mower navigates overmuch similar a robot vacuum. This, I believe, is the aboriginal of robot mower technology. Ultimately, we'd similar little invasiveness and much results from our smart devices. So, having a robot that autonomously mows your gait without worrying astir placing an antenna conscionable close oregon burying bound ligament on the edges of your spot is ideal.

That said, specified an businesslike exertion is neither precocious nor affordable capable to go the standard.

Struggled to mow my uneven lawn

While the Eufy E15's mapping and obstacle avoidance exertion is impressive, the robot struggled to mow my tract efficiently. My backyard is fenced in, but determination is simply a batch of uneven terrain, a mates of poorly defined plot beds, and a steep elevation that leads to a wooded country astatine the back. There's besides a ample platform nether which immoderate robot mowers person been trapped, and bushes on the sides of my house.

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My backyard is similar an obstacle people for robot mowers. While the beforehand gait is overmuch simpler, it's besides unfenced, and I didn't privation to hazard the Eufy E15 traveling implicit to mow my neighbor's yard, truthful I acceptable it up back.

Eufy E15 Robot Mower
Maria Diaz/ZDNET

Welp, my flowers

It took the Eufy E15 astir 2 hours to representation my full yard, chiefly due to the fact that it maps by traveling astir and scanning the area. Robot mowers with a buried ligament usage that to enactment wrong a perimeter, portion others that usage RTK and GNSS necessitate a well-placed antenna and for you to remotely steer them astir their boundary.

The Eufy E15 uses neither of these technologies. It uses Visual Fusion Sensing and Decision (V-FSD), truthful it has to physically question astir your gait to spot which areas are grassy and which should beryllium 'no-go' zones. Then, the Eufy app saves a representation of your yard, and you're acceptable to go, conscionable similar a robot vacuum.

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The Eufy app is the aforesaid app you usage for Eufy Security cameras, which is precise convenient, arsenic I person a Eufy information strategy astatine home. Much similar a robot vacuum, you tin edit the app and acceptable no-go zones, pathways, and grass-cutting zones.

Eufy E15 Robot Mower
Maria Diaz/ZDNET

Being capable to acceptable no-go zones makes it easier for the robot to debar areas of my gait that aren't precise good defined, similar the angiosperm beds mentioned supra and the elevation starring up to the woods. Without manually adding these virtual boundaries, the robot mowed implicit the outpouring maturation of my flowers and repeatedly got stuck connected the steep hill.

Smart enough

My uneven gait does champion with an AWD mower similar the Mammotion Luba 2, but this Eufy robot mower is astute capable to find dips wherever it whitethorn get stuck to prevention connected your representation and debar them each clip it mows. I similar not risking having to rescue it and being capable to number connected my mower not leaving down bushy areas successful my yard.

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The app allows you to customize astir of the Eufy E15's mowing abilities. You tin acceptable way directions, writer height, borderline spacing, way spacing, question and leaf speed, schedules, rainfall detection, and the measurement and connection for the robot's prompts. The Eufy E15 tin besides beryllium controlled with the app similar an RC car, and you tin ringing it to find it erstwhile you can't physically spot it.

ZDNET's buying advice

Eufy E15 Robot Mower
Maria Diaz/ZDNET

The Eufy E15 robot mower is cleanable for even-terrained, fenced-in yards. This is the cleanable robot mower if you person a simple, comparatively tiny grassy gait with nary steep slopes and a carnal perimeter astir it. This is existent adjacent if your gait has a paved oregon factual patio, trees, and well-defined plot beds.

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This mower is astute capable to debar those obstacles and autonomously people them arsenic no-go zones successful the Eufy app. It's besides susceptible of navigating astir changing environments, similar a favored that crosses successful beforehand of it, oregon astir toys that weren't connected the gait the time before. It's besides proven astute capable to debar going into the bushes astir my location and adjacent nether the deck, which lone the Mammotion Luba 2 has efficaciously avoided.

The caller US tariffs connected imports from countries similar China, Vietnam, and India purpose to boost home manufacturing but are apt to thrust up prices connected user electronics. Products similar smartphones, laptops, and TVs whitethorn go much costly arsenic companies rethink planetary proviso chains and measurement the outgo of shifting production.

Also:Tariff warfare has tech buyers wondering what's next. Here's what we know

Consumers whitethorn besides acquisition notable terms increases connected robot vacuums and astute location products, similar robot mowers. Manufacturers are exploring options specified arsenic relocating accumulation to countries with little tariffs, but specified transitions are analyzable and whitethorn not supply contiguous relief. In the abbreviated term, shoppers should expect higher costs for robot vacuums owed to these commercialized policies.

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