Gardena Sileno Robot Lawn Mowers

Forums › Home Workshop DIY › Gardena Sileno Robot Lawn Mowers

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#3111663 4-Aug-2023 07:14

jonathan18:

I had made the (in retrospect, clearly stupid) assumption that they’d work much like a robot vacuum cleaner - not in the sense of auto-detection of edges etc, but in a deliberate pattern.

Googling it I came across this article which mentions a machine made by a Christchurch company called Conga - anyone heard of it? Claims to use AI and doesn’t need an edge wire; app-based; mows in parallel lines… given the wider state of technology with robot mowers (kinda like vacuum cleaners were 10 years ago) I wonder if it’s too good to be true?!

https://www.congarobot.ai/

Edit: here’s a demo of it mowing: https://youtube.com/clip/Ugkx3ziQkMhRycTW9sqnzYYCqruzZ3FIH872

Now, that is GOOD. Too good to be true? Given the tech that exists these days, to me, this is just standard use, I'm surprised the other robot mowers need a wired boundary and are just random, which is time wasting and battery waste. I'm keen. I mulch mow my lawns when I can anyway, and if I need grass clipping mulch for the gardens I'd use the petrol one with the catcher. Might give them a call today

tdgeek

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#3111664 4-Aug-2023 07:25

Kickstarter page shows the price is around NZ$1500

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/conga/conga-an-ai-powered-autonomous-robotic-lawn-mower/rewards#reward-UmV3YXJkLVVtVjNZWEprTFRrd05EQXpNak09

LostBoyNZ

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#3111688 4-Aug-2023 08:43

Visually on the lawn I've never had an issue with the random movements, the idea is really to have it go fairly regularly and maintain the grass length. But certainly I look at it and think that's dumb and inefficient. If I to pay a lot more for one that moved smarter though, I don't think I would.

I wish the bottom was more sealed, as grass can certainly get everywhere inside. But a good blast with a jet nozzle cleans it pretty well.

Breaks in the boundary wire are a nightmare but the AM radio trick (on YouTube and such) works.

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#3111695 4-Aug-2023 08:58

tdgeek:

jonathan18:

I had made the (in retrospect, clearly stupid) assumption that they’d work much like a robot vacuum cleaner - not in the sense of auto-detection of edges etc, but in a deliberate pattern.

Googling it I came across this article which mentions a machine made by a Christchurch company called Conga - anyone heard of it? Claims to use AI and doesn’t need an edge wire; app-based; mows in parallel lines… given the wider state of technology with robot mowers (kinda like vacuum cleaners were 10 years ago) I wonder if it’s too good to be true?!

https://www.congarobot.ai/

Edit: here’s a demo of it mowing: https://youtube.com/clip/Ugkx3ziQkMhRycTW9sqnzYYCqruzZ3FIH872

Now, that is GOOD. Too good to be true? Given the tech that exists these days, to me, this is just standard use, I'm surprised the other robot mowers need a wired boundary and are just random, which is time wasting and battery waste. I'm keen. I mulch mow my lawns when I can anyway, and if I need grass clipping mulch for the gardens I'd use the petrol one with the catcher. Might give them a call today

Going by the comments on the Kickstarter, it does seem too good to be true. It appears like the Conga mower is a scam or (perhaps more lightly) very poorly managed and delayed with terrible customer communication. But I'd love to know if you gave them a call and what they said?

tdgeek

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#3111702 4-Aug-2023 09:05

LostBoyNZ:

Going by the comments on the Kickstarter, it does seem too good to be true. It appears like the Conga mower is a scam or (perhaps more lightly) very poorly managed and delayed with terrible customer communication. But I'd love to know if you gave them a call and what they said?

I didnt read the comments but yeah not good. ChCh website says its coming soon, uill update when I call them

EDIT:

The contact phone number is not connected

mentalinc

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#3111707 4-Aug-2023 09:15

Looks like latest Home Assistant now supports bluetooth integration

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#3111717 4-Aug-2023 10:01

LostBoyNZ:

Going by the comments on the Kickstarter, it does seem too good to be true. It appears like the Conga mower is a scam or (perhaps more lightly) very poorly managed and delayed with terrible customer communication. But I'd love to know if you gave them a call and what they said?

I was an enthusiastic Kickstarter backer several years back. Of the nine projects I supported, only 2 delivered a worthwhile product.

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#3111726 4-Aug-2023 10:36

LostBoyNZ:

Going by the comments on the Kickstarter, it does seem too good to be true. It appears like the Conga mower is a scam or (perhaps more lightly) very poorly managed and delayed with terrible customer communication. But I'd love to know if you gave them a call and what they said?

The standard of English on the website is poor in places, which can be a yellow flag.

Mike

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#3111763 4-Aug-2023 12:20

Kickstarter can be very much a gamble unfortunately, but it can be great. I've backed 34 projects and one got refunded after many years and one I never received an item.

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#3111841 4-Aug-2023 17:31

mentalinc:
Looks like latest Home Assistant now supports bluetooth integration

Unfortunately I think this is only for water control.

ashtonaut

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#3113712 9-Aug-2023 13:57

Looks like there's a new Husqvarna robot mower on the market that ticks the wifi control box for only $1,600:

https://www.husqvarna.com/nz/robotic-lawn-mowers/automower-aspire-r4-with-installation-kit/

Appears to work out of the box with the Husqvarna wifi control ecosystem, which has been well-documented and integrated into Home Assistant:

https://github.com/Thomas55555/husqvarna_automower

At only $300 more than the 'less smart' Gardena entry level model (which is 250m2 vs this model at 400m2), and cheaper than older Husqvarna models that don't have the same level of connectivity, this looks like a good option.

Talkiet

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#3113741 9-Aug-2023 15:04

Annoyingly the video on that Husqvarna page refers very clearly to wireless boundary and 'stay out' areas, but the spec list is very clear that boundary is wire based.

Not sure what to make of that.

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

Talkiet

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#3113749 9-Aug-2023 15:18

Husqvarna acknowledge the video is misleading and are going away to confirm that many of the features shown on the video from the Aspire R4 page don't actually apply to the Aspire R4.

Bugger.

Cheers - N

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ashtonaut

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#3113800 9-Aug-2023 17:20

Hopefully the wifi app control doesn’t shortly disappear from the feature list…

jonathan18

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#3120650 26-Aug-2023 18:47

Here’s a new option for models that don’t require a perimeter wire etc - cost is $4k - $6k (with a small discount this weekend), so only the serious and well-off need apply!

https://robomate.co.nz/robot-mowers

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