Platforms · one software stack
Ion is the mower we're building first. The other five are first-pass designs for lawns Ion can't do well: a side passage, rough ground, a slope, a big field. Every one is a single profile file, and the same planner, safety gate and power model drive each of them in the simulator.
Ion is in simulation and next to be built. The others are concepts, simulated but not built. Range, slope and cost are design estimates (US dollars, Nov 2026); every other stat is computed from the profile. Bars compare the six: longer is better. Smoke-test badges are from the latest make smoke-all run (smoke-22, 2026-11-10): each robot undocks, mows a 5 × 4 m patch in the simulator and docks.
The one we're building first.
Special Factory body: a certified blade guard, battery and dock, so it can be built first.
Weakness A 36 cm cut: big lawns take a long time.
Small enough for the side passage.
Special Fits a 55 cm side passage. The lightest and cheapest of the six.
Weakness 24 cm cut, small battery, gentle slopes only.
A mast to see further, a roof to charge from the sun.
Special Sees over long grass from 1 m up; its solar roof tops up the battery between missions.
Weakness Tall: low branches and wind. Its mast lidar has a 43 cm blind zone close in.
Four-wheel drive for rough ground.
Special Four driven wheels climb roots, molehills and bumps a caster would catch on.
Weakness Turning on the spot scrubs all four tyres: more power, more turf wear.
Tracks for slopes and soft ground.
Special Tracks spread 40 kg over a big footprint and hold slopes up to 25°.
Weakness Slowest of the six; tracks scuff the turf on tight turns.
Twin blades for big lawns.
Special A 70 cm twin-blade cut at 0.8 m/s: the big-lawn machine.
Weakness Needs a 1.1 m gap, leaves the widest uncut edge, and loses corners on small lawns.
Pick two. A star marks the better number in each row; the score counts the stars. It's a toy: what wins depends on your lawn.
Cut: Width of grass cut in one pass. Top speed: Fastest it drives (mowing runs slower). Peak rate: Cut width × top speed: an upper bound before turns and overlap, not a real mowing rate. Range: Design estimate of lawn mowed per charge. Climb: Design estimate of the steepest slope it can mow. Agility: Diameter of the circle its body sweeps turning on the spot. Smaller is better. Sight: How far ahead of the nose a 4 cm object can hide under the 3D lidar's lowest beam. Smaller is better. Cost: Middle of the parts-list estimate, US dollars.
mowlark