iRobot Terra Robot Mower Review
Robot mowers are the future! There are some people who are born with some sort of special gene that instills them to love mowing the lawn. For the rest of us, cutting the grass is a chore that eats up more time than you want. It’s even more bemoaning if it’s hot outside. Still, you want your lawn to look immaculate and dare I say impressive.
The iRobot Terra Robot Mower emerges onto the scene of new robot lawnmowers. iRobot originally rose to fame when with their autonomous vacuum cleaner. They have since evolved their line to include pool cleaning robots, mopping robots and even robots that can clean your gutters. So, you knew it was only going to be a matter of time until they threw their hat into the robot lawnmower niche.
The Terra™ Robot Mower brings some innovations that you don’t necessarily find with other robot lawnmowers. It uses wireless standalone beacons to set up the perimeter of the yard. It then reads the terrain and the features, so it always knows where it is. It also cuts grass in a straight line, just like a human being would.
The iRobot Terra™ Robot Mower also comes with a special HOME App. It is designed to allow the user to specifically schedule and customize their mowing preferences. The iRobot Home App can be paired and transmitted via a dedicated Wi-Fi signal. This allows you the user to adjust the height at which it cuts the grass as well as do things like control whether the lawn is mowed during the day or at night.
Key Features
• Imprint™ Smart Mapping Technology
• Wi-Fi connectivity
• HOME APP for your smartphone or other wireless devices
• Rugged construction
• Straight Line navigation
• Self-recharging
• Easy to setup with standalone beacons
Performance
Just like the other autonomous devices in their line the iRobot Terra™ Robot Mower is designed for maximum efficiency. Once you set up the standalone beacons and program the essential geofence of your lawn, it carefully reads the terrain and any obstacles.
The HOME app even allows you to schedule when it runs, and what height it cuts the grass at. This can be especially handy if say a drought affects your area and you want the grass kept a little longer to help hold in turf moisture.
Ease of Use
Compared to an electric or manual mower, the Terra™ Robot Mower is much easier to use. While the setup with the standalone beacons is relatively easy, you will still want to take your time programming its boundaries.
Take the time to keep an eye on it for your first mow, just to make sure that it has everything just right. The last thing you want is for it to mistake a flower bed with an organic, or low edge for grass and cut down your prized flowers!
Keep in mind that just like the Roomba vacuum, it will steer away from anything it bumps into. This could be an issue if you leave your lawn furniture out when it’s cutting, or your kid leaves one of their large toys laying in the yard. A big stick that sits at just the wrong orientation could also leave you with a large uncut area.
Cut Quality & Options
The iRobot HOME app allows you to connect with the Terra™ Robot Mower via a Wi-Fi signal. This allows you to make some basic adjustments including the height at which it cuts the grass. You can also set it to run at night while everyone is asleep or during the day when you can keep an eye on it.
It’s best to set the Terra™ Robot Mower to mow with regular frequency. It is intended to make small cuts to the grass. If your lawn grows too long, it could bog down the lightweight blades or cause issues with its ability to move around effectively.
Maintenance
Like all robotic lawnmowers, the Terra™ Robot Mower is relatively low-maintenance. However, depending on the characteristics of your grass, the blades might not stay sharp for as long as you might expect.
Keep an eye on its performance from time to time. If you notice that it is struggling or not making the cleanest of cuts, you may need to simply replace the lightweight blades with a newer, sharper set. This is relatively straight forward and easy to do.
Safety Features
The Imprint™ Smart Mapping Technology built into the Terra™ Robot Mower improves its safe operation. Should it collide with an obstacle it will likely just move around it.
Special Features
Imprint™ Smart Mapping Technology allows the Terra™ Robot Mower to learn the characteristics and terrain of your yard for safe and more efficient mowing.
The HOME app connects to your smartphone or other wireless devices, which allows you more fine controls.
It uses wireless beacons to help establish the perimeters of your yard. However, one minor peccadillo is that the signal it uses can potentially interrupt or be interrupted by other RF signals that are set to the same frequency. Still, it’s a pretty obscure frequency often used for things like large-scale telescopes.
Cost Effectiveness
If you despise cutting your own grass on a hot summer day, or you simply have mobility issues, then the iRobot Terra™ Robot Mower is worth every single penny. Compared to its competitors in the same class, this compact, lightweight little robot mower, offers ease of use, and innovative technology to provide you with a clean and easy to maintain lawn.
You will certainly save a great deal of money on things like gasoline, oil, and motor maintenance like you would with a gas-powered lawnmower. Still, the Terra™ Robot Mower is intended to run on a semi-frequent schedule. If you have a very large lawn, you might notice your electric bill going up a bit, but not in an unreasonable way.
