The one we're building first.
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.
Gen 1 · All-rounder · In simulation now. First to be built (goal 3).
A rear-drive mower the size of a YardForce Classic 500, which it's modelled on. The real Ion is a used YardForce with its control board swapped for an OpenMower kit, our Raspberry Pi brain, centimetre GPS and a 3D lidar. The body, blade guard, battery and dock are the factory's, already certified, which is why it goes first.
Ion is in simulation and next to be built. Parts and prices are estimates, in US dollars (Nov 2026). Drawings are generated from the profile the simulator uses.
| Body (L × W × H) | 61 × 60 × 35 cm |
|---|---|
| Mass | ≈ 17 kg |
| Drive | Two-wheel differential, 1 caster, 24 cm wheels, up to 0.5 m/s |
| Blades | 36 cm → 36 cm cut |
| Battery | 7S 6 Ah ≈ 151 Wh |
| Stripe spacing | 32.4 cm (10% overlap) |
| Edge lap | 35 cm from the edge; uncut band ≈ 17 cm for the trimmer |
| Turning in place sweeps | a 115 cm circle |
| 3D lidar blind zone | 47 cm ahead of the nose |
| Margin at raised beds | 45 cm |
| Best for | Small and medium lawns (up to ~600 m²) on gentle ground. |
| Slopes | up to ≈ 15° |
| Part | What it does | Price | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Used YardForce Classic 500 robot mower | Body, wheels, motors, blade guard, battery and dock | ≈ $340 | used listings |
| OpenMower v1 board kit (or v2) | Drives the motors, reads the mower's sensors | ≈ $250–340 | devops.care |
| Raspberry Pi 5 8 GB + SSD + cooler | The brain | ≈ $215–245 | Raspberry Pi list price |
| simpleRTK2B GNSS + antenna | Centimetre positioning | ≈ $235 | ArduSimple |
| BNO085 IMU | Heading and tilt | $30 | Adafruit |
| Livox Mid-360 3D lidar | Seeing obstacles | $979 | list price |
| Pico 2 + safety parts (stop button, relay, wiring) | The hardware blade interlock | ≈ $100 | estimate |
| Total | ≈ $2,149–2,269 | ||
mowlark