Robot lawn mowers have been a thing for a while now, but I think 2026 is going to be the year they become truly mainstream. The shift from boundary wires to wire-free mowing removed a major barrier to entry, and now lawnbots are set to become even more user-friendly.
I saw most brands’ new launches at CES, and there were three major trends that stood out. It’s an exciting time for robot mowers – here are the big updates coming to a yard near you this year.
#1. LiDAR-based navigation
The standout trend is the use of LiDAR for navigation. This has been the standard in robot vacuums for a few years, and now it’s making its way into lawnbots. LiDAR works by bouncing beams of light off of objects, recording how long those beams take to return, and using that information to build a 3D map of the area.
That means it’s perfect for smaller, enclosed yards with lots of obstacles. It doesn’t rely on there being a good satellite signal, it works in enclosed or undercover areas and in the dark, and doesn’t require a separate RTK receiver to operate. You will, in some cases, be able to just pop the lawnbot down on a lawn and it’ll be able to figure out its surroundings and start mowing, with no prior mapping or fiddly setup required (brands are calling this ‘drop and mow’).
Pretty much every lawnbot brand I saw at CES was showcasing at least one LiDAR-based model – from the Segway Navimow i2 LiDAR, to the Ecovacs GOAT LiDAR, to the Roborock X1 LiDAR and the Anthbot M5 LiDAR. Mammotion’s approach is to combine various different navigation methods – LiDAR included – so that when one fails, another one can take over.
That’s particularly smart because LiDAR isn’t ideal for all scenarios – in large, open spaces, there’s nothing for the light to bounce off, so satellite-based navigation is the best option there. However, for small yards it’s perfect – and in this situation it removes a big barrier to entry. It could be a real game changer.
#2. All-wheel drive
All-wheel drive (AWD) lawnbots were another major trend. There are a couple of big benefits of this setup. The first is that it enables the bot to tackle really tricky and uneven terrain. Just like a four-wheel drive car, having each wheel powered individually delivers more traction and grip. It means if one, two or even three wheels end up off the ground, there’s still a way for the robot to drive out of the situation.
The other big benefit of all-wheel drive is that it can be gentler on the lawn. If the wheels are able to move independently, there’s less chance of churning up the grass when the lawnbot needs to pivot. One interesting example in this area is the Segway Navimow i2 AWD. This is a compact lawnbot with three wheels, so it’s not for really tough terrain. Instead, the AWD is designed to protect the grass in small yards – the front wheel can turn to 180-degrees to guide the robot around hairpin turns (the ones required to make perfect stripes) without dragging on the turf.
3. Edge-trimming modules
On big drawback of a robot mower is that, traditionally, they’ve only been able to get so close to the edges of a lawn. That means you’d always need to go in afterwards with an edge-trimmer to tidy up the perimeter. Lawnbot brands are starting to find ways to solve the problem, though. Many of the new models I saw at CES had some kind of edge-trimming module, either as an optional extra or built into the main machine as standard. This module includes smaller blades to supplement that main cutting deck, and is designed for cutting with precision, right up close to the edges of a lawn.
These kinds of additions rely partly on strong object recognition. Luckily, this has also come a long way, too. Many modern lawnbots deploy camera vision, often bolstered by AI, to reliably and accurately identify obstacles, so they know what to mow and what to avoid.
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