Robot vacuum cleaners are well established, and iTWire has been watching the emergence of consumer-grade, home-use robot lawnmowers as the next big thing in convenient, automated, robotic home care.

Yet, while a robot vacuum cleaner only needs to really keep track of where its charging station is, and be sensitive enough to avoid stairs, lawnmowers have a bigger challenge and as yet iTWire has been unimpressed with the robot lawnmowers we've tested when it comes to navigation. These lawnmowers have typically used a form of navigation known as RTK GPS, which means "real-time kinematic." In theory, RTK can augment GPS data with data from a base station in your yard or on your roof that gives more detail. In practice, RTK requires fairly ideal conditions that don't exist if your home has several stories, if you have trees in your yard, or all kinds of other normal circumstances. The RTK lawnmowers I've tested have all drifted and proven most frustrating as they leave swathes of lawn unmowed, and then run out of battery while trying to find their way back to the base station.

So, it is with some excitement I've noticed Mowrator's new Mowrator S1 remote-controlled lawnmower. Yes, in remote control mode it's obviously not mowing the lawn while you are asleep or at work, but at the same time how fun and cool is it to drive a lawnmower around your yard with all-wheel drive and a big 21" blade? This also means it's a convenient and reliable operation for those who live with pain or other conditions that might prevent them pushing a heavy lawnmower around themselves.

To be clear, the Mowrator S1 isn't on the market just yet; it's being run as a Kickstarter campaign that right now has 22 days to go but has reached more than 10 times its funding goal. You can pledge your support of around $2,722 for a Mowrator S1 advanced 2WD with four accessories. Then, other pledge levels go on from there.

The mower will be available in two options - 2WD and AWD - to help manage the terrain you need. Both models are rated IP54 and resistant to light rain, made out of high-strength aluminium alloy, move at a pace of 0.5 acre/hour and max travel speed of 1.5 metres per second, 21" cutting width, max 3200 rpm blade rotation speed, two emergency stop buttons, built-in dual antennas, front bumper sensor to avoid obstacles, tilt protection to stop cutting if someone picks it up, over-the-air updates, and more.

Where they differ is the AWD model weighs an extra 7kg (52kg, from 45kg for the 2WD), can climb inclines of 37" at 75% vs. 24" at 45" for the 2WD model, has a lower cutting height option, and, of course, can traverse more rugged terrain.

Either model can be remote-controlled, and can also operate in a regular autonomous mode. As well as the remote control, what sets the Mowrator S1 apart from others is how it cuts like a beast! It will handle long grass with gusto. It will mulch, it can vacuum up leaves and then dump them in a pile elsewhere, deal with hills and slopes, and generally tackle whatever your backyard throws at you.

The Mowrator S1 comes with. tough LiFePO4 battery that runs for almost two and a half hours in most circumstances, recharges in 90 minutes and has 1,500 recharge cycles. The runtime varies based on the size of the grass, the height you cut it to, and other factors, but minimal options can extend the runtime to over three hours.

It's quite an impressive device, with auto grass dumping to save you manual raking or emptying the grass catcher, and pledge rewards will be shipped in May 2024, with accessories shipping from September 2024.

Mowrator is continuing to innovate and indicates an edger accessory might be in its future too. Right now, the company says its devices are already in the mass-production stage so the Kickstarter campaign appears to be a risk-free pledge.

The company Mowrator is based in Hong Kong as was founded by former Diji executives. The campaign includes shipping globally, and is well worth checking out.