About this time last year, Roborock announced it was moving beyond the living room with the addition of robotic lawnmowers, similar technology to the robotic vacuums the company was famed for. But like all things that take come, technology can also take time to trickle out, even if announcements typically paint the delivery as close to immediate.
Fast forward to now, and it looks as though Roborock is ready with a push to clean up the outside of your home, and not just the inside.
While robotic lawnmowers aren’t necessarily super new — lawnmower companies like Husqvarna have been there for some time — robotic vacuum companies are beginning to stretch their wheels for longer and more sloped rides, whether it’s outside trimming grass or somewhere a touch more moist like the pool.
Roborock hasn’t been seen with robotic pool cleaners (yet), but it has targeted spring as the time Australians can expect it to join robo-mowers locally, a good year or so following its official announcement at IFA last year.
We aren’t far from IFA this year, but just before that happens, we’ll see Roborock’s mowers pop up locally.
Officially there will be three, covering the basics in the RockNeo Q, the mid-range in the RockMow S, and the high-end in the flagship Z-series RockMow.
At the low-end, Roborock’s RockNeo Q will start at $1409 for the Q105 or $1899 for the Q110, variants on a theme that offer up to 500m² or 1000m² (respectively), and an automated navigation system, three-blade cutting system, and even support for night mowing.
Apparently there’s hedgehog protection built in, a minor thing for Australia where hedgehogs aren’t common. However, the inclusion is there not just for Sonic and friends, but also other nocturnal wildlife, and hopefully works to protect wombats and other small creatures potentially wandering on your lawn.
Closer to the mid-range, the Roborock S108 and S115 will be priced at $1999 and $2499 for up to 800m² and 1500m² of mowing range (respectively again), with an edge-mowing kit for cleaner borders, and more of that AI you can expect. The design is similar to the Q-series, but there’s a more powerful motor and just a little more from the height adjustment system.
If you have bigger and more complex yards, the flagship could grab your attention.
Different again, these models can cover between 2500m² and 5000m² making them built for very big lawns and spaces, and even including four-wheel drive technologies to let them handle steep slopes without falling over.
The RockMow Z1 includes LiDAR just like the back of a phone for spatial awareness, a six-blade system for better grass cuts, and uses AI for automatic mapping to cover the 2500 square metres, but does so for $3499 in Australia. At $4999, however, the Rockmow Z150 is the most expensive of the bunch, offering a larger battery for nearly twice the runtime and that 5000 square metre maximum.
And these are likely to be just the first of an onslaught of robotic mowers, as vacuum makers turn to the backyard and potentially give you one less chore to do (even if it’s a cathartic chore you don’t mind doing). As it is, Roborock’s mowing range is set to arrive in stores across the country from September 1.
