Kickstarter campaigns for robot mowers are still going strong. In many ways, these campaigns helped push mower technology forward faster than if it were just a few big manufacturers pushing out new models annually.
But these campaigns do sometimes suffer from growing pains. Whether it’s products that never reach the market or broken promises when it comes to features, the crowdfunding arena for mowers can be a bit risky.
But for every failed campaign, there’s a success story. ANTHBOT is hoping to be one of the successes with their new Genie line of plug-and-play mowers that promise to have one of the easiest setups and installation of any mower at this price point.
For those getting in early, the price is interesting, starting at only $599 for backers of their campaign.
Below, we’ll see if this mower lives up to the promises or if it’s destined to be another crowdfunded mower that misses the mark.
Who Is ANTHBOT?
ANTHBOT is a robotics startup based in Hong Kong and the Genie line is their first foray into wireless robot mowers. Previously, ANTHBOT sold a small robot mower that required a boundary wire, called the Pion.
The Pion mower used mostly off-the-shelf parts which were rebranded under the ANTHBOT brand. It did offer a unique pathing system that was more efficient than traditional guidewire mowers that use a random mowing pattern.
The founders state that they have 10 years of experience with both LiDAR navigation systems and robotic sweepers designed for home and industrial use. Their goal was to put that experience into their new Genie mower by offering features not currently available with other robot mowers.
The Genie line is currently in testing and is scheduled for a November 2024 shipping date.
ANTHBOT Navigation
The ANTHBOT Genie uses a Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) navigation system combined with a vision-camera-based Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) system.
The Genie has four onboard cameras used for visual processing. There is also a system for automatically detecting and identifying specific obstacles. For example, being able to determine the difference between a basketball and a cat.
The RTK system uses an included antenna base station. ANTHBOT says the base station requires a 120-degree view of the sky and must be at least 2 meters away from any obstacle.
The base station has a 300-meter range and the ANTHBOT claims the system will work well even with obstructions as long as the 120-degree line of site is present.
Overall, this is a fairly standard navigation system used in modern robot mowers and performs similarly to other RTK and VSLAM systems.
ANTHBOT GENIE SETUP
This is where the Genie claims to offer something unique to other mowers.
Most wireless or RTK mowers still require you to map out your lawn’s boundaries manually. This usually means you have to control the mower via an app and drive it around your lawn so it can learn the perimeter.
While this process isn’t difficult, it can be a little tedious, especially if it’s hot outside or you simply want a faster alternative that doesn’t require you to walk along with the mower.
The ANTHBOT Genie offers a proprietary technology that allows for automated boundary detection and setup.
The vision cameras can detect the edges and boundaries around your lawn as it moves about your property. During this process, it automatically creates the perimeter it will use to determine its mowing path.
There’s no need to control the mower via the app and this is a totally automated process.
Based on what we saw, the system works well. We were only able to see it in operation on a lawn that had a well-defined border and edge. But even with that, it was able to detect the curves of the border and follow it precisely.
We’re not sure how it will do with a less well-defined border and edge. The same can be said for complex lawns or areas within a lawn that blend into one another.
But overall, it’s an exciting feature, and for the right lawn, it does make setup much easier and becomes an almost totally hands-free experience.
The ANTHBOT GENIE MOWER
The Genie mower offers a few unique features that homeowners will find useful.
To start, the Genie offers automatic cutting height adjustments that move the blades so they only cut the top third of the grass blade. Using this feature, the grass won’t cut to a specific height and will instead use the one-third rule.
Through the app, you can turn this feature off and set the cutting height manually. The current max height is 3 inches although that may change when the production model is released.
In addition, the mower improves edging and can be set to straddle edges if there is room. This feature can be activated for different zones via the included app.
Besides that, the Genie uses the now standard robot mower design with two powered wheels in the rear and casters in front.
The Genie comes in three models which are identical in their features and only differ in their range.
- Genie 600: .15 acre range
- Genie 1000: .75 acre range
- Genie 3000: 1.24 acre range
All the Genie mowers are 28V with the 1000 model being 3 amps and the two larger siblings being 6 amps.
Charging time is about 1.5 hours with a run time of 2 hours on the Genie 1000 and 4 hours on both the 3000 & 5000 models.
Overall, the design of the mower and the features are standard for this price range.
ANTHBOT Genie Pricing
Currently, the mowers are offered at a significant discount for those who order before the official launch.
- Genie 1000: $599
- Genie 3000: $699
- Genie 5000: $799
As always, crowdfunding can be risky so make your decision carefully. But as it stands, the Genie is nearly half-off the retail price if you get in on the Kickstarter campaign.
According to ANTHBOT, their testing and production are on schedule and they plan on shipping in November of 2024. They’ve also extended the warranty period to account for the mower shipping during the winter months in most of the United States.
This means the warranty period essentially starts in the spring of 2025.
Overall Review Of The ANTHBOT Genie
ANTHBOT seems to be taking a similar path that many robot mower startups are taking. They first start with a wired mower that uses mostly rebranded parts.
They then work on designing their own unique mower by using those profits along with a Kickstarter or Indiegogo campaign.
It’s a proven business model and has delivered some quality mowers in the past.
What sets the ANTHBOT apart is the completely automated setup process. Once you install the RTK base station and the flat charging dock, the mower does the rest.
From what we saw, the system works as intended and for lawns with clearly defined edges and borders, you’ll have one of the easiest installation processes available with any robot mower.
The rest of the features are standard for this price range so don’t expect anything revolutionary in that regard.
At the discounted Kickstarter price of $599, it’s a great deal for the features. Of course, there’s a risk with any crowdfunding purchase. At the full price of around $1,100 for the base model, we would definitely want to see the final production model before making a final decision. But with overall positive reviews on Amazon, it seems that the Genie might be a real winner.
There’s a lot of proven competition at that price point and we would want to confirm the Genie stacks up before committing at that price.
