Key takeaways
- A robotic mower needs continuous open turf, and every island or bed adds trimming that a crew still does.
- RTK guidance depends on a clear view of the sky, so tree canopy and overhangs can cost accuracy.
- Check slope ratings for the inside of the lawn and for the boundary, because the two figures often differ.
- Unattended municipal turf carries theft and supervision costs that belong in the bid.
- Some lawns score poorly on several factors and are better left to the crew.
Can a commercial lawn take a robotic mower?
Many commercial lawns can, but suitability comes down to four things: how continuous the turf is, whether the mower can see enough sky to hold satellite position, how steep the ground runs, and how much supervision and security the site needs. A lawn that clears all four is a strong candidate. One that fails two or more usually stays with the crew for now.
Score the site before you write a bid. The aim is a clear answer on each factor, recorded so the client can see how the number was reached.
How much open turf does a robot need?
A robotic mower works best on large, continuous grass where its path can run in long, predictable passes. Islands, planting beds and narrow strips turn the job into a string of small loops. Each loop adds boundary setup and trimming that a robot cannot do, so the crew's share of the work grows as the lawn fragments.
Check the site on foot as well as on a map. Aerial views often miss the small shrub islands, light standards and planter rings that matter most to a route, and those features tend to force the most detours.
Does the mower have a clear view of the sky?
Most high precision robotic mowers depend on RTK, which corrects satellite signals using a reference station. RTKdata says RTK needs clear sky above roughly 15 degrees from the horizon, according to its 2026 accuracy guide. Canopies, roof lines and tall light poles close that window, and position suffers where they do.
Navimow notes that partial obstruction from one direction can reduce accuracy from centimeters to decimeters, and it recommends mounting the antenna at least 1.5 m high. Height helps, but it does not replace an open view. Walk the lawn at the planned antenna height, mark every tree, eave and pole that blocks the sky, and flag those zones as crew mow areas or as a test before any robot pass is promised.
How steep can a robotic mower climb?
Slope ratings look simple on a spec sheet and are easy to misread. Husqvarna lists its Automower 535 AWD EPOS at a maximum slope of 70% inside the installation area and 50% at the boundary wire, according to its product page. A retailer listing for the Automower 550, which the listing describes as a commercial fleet model, gives 45% inside the installation area.
Landscape Management reported that Greenworks is launching a commercial grade robotic mower able to handle lawns up to a 35% grade, as checked in November 2026. These are maker and retailer figures, not site tests, so they set a ceiling rather than a guarantee. Measure the grade where the mower will actually run, and check whether a figure applies inside the lawn or only at the boundary. Boundary limits are often the lower number, and a bank that looks gentle from the street can exceed it at the edge of a zone.
Which obstacles and edges break a route?
Obstacles cost more time than they appear to. Sprinkler heads, drains, benches, flag poles, play structures and parked service vehicles each force a detour or a stop, and each has to be mapped or fenced before the first run. A site with frequent events or temporary fencing needs its route changed often, and the bid should show that cost.
Edges stay with the crew. A robot leaves an even cut across the open middle, but the curb line, the bed edge and the corner by the sign still need trimming. Count the edges in each zone and price them as crew work, not as robot work.
How much supervision and theft exposure does the site carry?
Supervision is the cost most often left out of a bid. A mower that stalls, wanders out of its zone, or reports a fault needs someone to receive the alert and act on it. Name who gets the alert, how fast they must respond, and whether anyone is on site during the run. Confirm the provider can offer onsite dispatch when a unit cannot be cleared remotely.
Unattended public turf also raises theft exposure. CBS Texas reported that a GPS tracker inside a robot lawn mower led police to equipment thieves in Dallas, and two suspects were arrested. Yle reported a stolen mower whose GPS placed it more than 100 km away when police arrived. Husqvarna describes GPS based GeoFence protection on its theft protection page, but that is a feature to verify in the spec, not a reason to skip the risk review.
These are individual incidents. This review found no municipal or park department theft counts, so do not present them as a known rate. Price theft as a site risk, and record whether the lawn is fenced, lit and visible from a road at night.
When should the crew keep the lawn?
Some lawns fail the checklist and should stay with the crew. Heavy shade from mature trees, steep banks, and dense beds with frequent events can cost more in supervision and repair than the crew hours they save. The honest result of a site assessment is sometimes a recommendation to keep the mower off the lawn.
Service Robot Co. works as a vendor neutral robot integrator. We assess the site, pick robots from across manufacturers for the job, then handle robot deployment and integration, training and service through a nationwide US engineer network. Customers get robot lease options through financing on a three year lease, and the lease is quoted after a site assessment as one fixed payment. If a lawn belongs with the crew, that is the answer we should give.
How do you score a lawn before writing the bid?
Score each factor on its own line, then judge the lawn as a whole. A strong turf share can still fail if the sky view is blocked or a slope exceeds its boundary rating. Bid the mower only on zones that pass, and price the rest at crew rates so the client sees exactly what a robot will and will not take.
- Turf: record the share of continuous grass, and count islands and beds as separate line items
- Sky view: sketch the antenna's sky window on the site map, then shade each zone that a canopy or roofline closes
- Slope: log the measured gradient per zone and compare it with the inside lawn and boundary ratings
- Obstacles and edges: count permanent obstacles and the edges each zone needs trimmed after every pass
- Supervision: name the alert recipient, the response window, and whether staff are onsite during runs
- Theft: note fencing, lighting, road visibility at night, and how many hours the site runs unattended
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