Honda Enters the Realm of Robotic Mowing

If you have as much trouble finding time to mow the yard as much as I do, have no fear—Honda has got you covered. They have just released their latest robot, and while they may be late to the robotic lawn mowing party, they certainly have brought a tasty dish.

If you live in the U.S., you still have a wait on this product—it is only available in Europe for now. But Europeans rejoice! The same name you trust out of Japan now wants you to have their little robot mow your lawn for you.

He’s called the Miimo. Go ahead, say it out loud. Thanks for the word play, Honda. There are about half a dozen or so of these little robot mowers on the market, and it was only a matter of time before Honda got involved. So how does it work?

Honda refers to the process as a continuous cutting system. What this little guy does is drive himself around your yard, cutting the grass in 3mm increments. You can set your Miimo to the pattern you desire. The three different cutting patterns give your yard some diversity and are supposed to be good for it. It’s got a random setting so you can just put it out there and let it do its thing. There is also a directional setting if you want there to be a little more structure to the way your yard is mowed. The third setting is a blend of the two, allowing Miimo to go back and forth between structure and free roam.

The clippings are cut so finely that you don’t have to worry about raking it up to bag afterward. The tiny clippings just fall to the surface and actuality help to fertilize the ground. The idea is to have the robot do the work for you. Hours of follow up work would defeat the purpose of purchasing this little guy.

Don’t worry about finding Miimo in the middle of the yard with no battery power left. It will drive itself back to the charger before the lithium ion battery is completely out of juice.

There is also an adjustable cutting height, which is convenient because at different times of the year it is better to keep the yard a certain length. In case that’s a new idea to you, you’ll want to leave the grass a little longer during the hottest part of the year. It won’t always keep your yard from burning, but it gives it a better chance of survival.

Get ready to pick this little guy up at the start of 2013.