Segway Navimow i Series Robot Mower review

REVIEW –  A few years ago when I first purchased my home, there was a relatively large lawn in the back and a small lawn in the front. I hate mowing and I soon convinced my wife to create a 100% hardscape in the backyard, eliminating the lawn. We still have the lawn in front, and although my wife’s landscaping has reduced the already small lawn, I still hate mowing it. Last year my wife insisted on taking over the task and seeing her mowing in the hot sun made me feel guilty. If only I could have a remote-controlled lawnmower that could do the job while I watched from the comfort of my air-conditioned home!! Enter the Segway Navimow i Series Robot Mower.

What is it?

The Segway Navimow i Series Robot Mower is a robotic lawnmower designed for compact residential lawns. It offers a wire-free and intelligent lawn maintenance solution. Utilizing advanced RTK+Vision technology, it can handle lawns up to 1,000 m² (approximately 1/4 acre) with precise centimeter-level positioning. The i Series features a unique AI-assisted mapping system that allows users to define virtual boundaries through a smartphone app, eliminating the need for traditional perimeter wiring. It is equipped with a 140° field-of-view camera and built-in AI algorithms, that allow it to identify and avoid over 150 types of obstacles, ensuring safe and efficient mowing. The mower automatically adjusts its mowing patterns, changing directions to minimize lawn tracks ensuring comprehensive coverage. It can handle various lawn layouts, including areas with trees and narrow corridors, and works on slopes up to 25-35%. The Navimow i Series offers smart features like multi-zone management, allowing users to set different schedules and mowing directions for up to 12 zones through the mobile app. With a quiet 58 dB(A) noise level and the ability to automatically return to its charging station when battery levels are low, the Navimow provides a convenient and hands-off approach to lawn maintenance.

What’s included?

• 1 x Segway Navimow i Series Robot Mower 
• 1 x Garage S for Navimow i Series
• 1 x Navimow Access+
• 1 x User Manuals
• 1 x Accessories

Tech specs

Navimow i Series Robot Mower 1/4 acre

Design and features

Navimow i Series Robot Mower | 1/8 or 1/4 acre

• • Upgraded positioning technology EFLS 2.0 with cm-level accuracy;
  • AI-assisted mapping and VisionFence image obstacle avoidance;
  • App control and multi-zone management for mowing schedules;
  • Slope climbing working capability up to 16°;
  • Noise level at 58dB(A);
  • Manual cutting height adjustment from 2 to 3.6 in.

Garage S for Navimow I Series

• Applicable robot mower: Navimow i Series
• Function: To protect your Navimow i from sun and rain.
• Additional protection from sun and rain.
• No blocking of signals or connectivity.
• Convenient access to the control panel.

Navimow Access+

• Applicable robot mower: Navimow i Series
• Function: For 4G connectivity and anti-theft.

The Segway Navimow i Series Robot Mower is made of plastic and ABS. It features an assembled Mower, tithe controls, and display on the top and wheels and the cutting blades on the bottom. The charging port is on the back. Included is a garage that is used to charge and store the mower. There is also a GPS antenna and a device that provides a 4G signal. All of the cables and stakes are included. Segway also provides the Navimow Access+ which provides connectivity if there is a poor WiFi signal.

Assembly, Installation, Setup

Assembling the Segway Navimow i Series Robot Mower takes minimal effort. The first thing I needed to do was assemble the pieces that make up the Garage.
The Mover comes assembled. There is now much assembly required. Here is a short video of my process from unboxing to charging:

The next step is to set up the Garage on the lawn. This involved staking the garage and landing pad to the ground, installing the GPS antenna, connecting the wires to the garage and power, and making sure that the Mower knew where “home” was. Here is a short video that explains more about the process:

Performance

Using the Segway Navimow i Series Robot Mower starts with choosing a suitable location to attach the garage with its base to the ground. This is done with the included garden stakes. The Garage must be located where AC power can be reached. The Mower uses the garage for shelter and charging. Once you secure the base to the lawn and feed the wires for the power and the antenna through the back, you have to install the antenna on its pole in a location with clear access to the sky. There are no large trees near my front lawn so this was easy.

The next step was to set up the Mower using the app which includes updating several firmware versions. 

APP
The following are screenshots of the app as I installed and set it up to be ready to make the mower functional:

Next, it was time to confirm the home location and use the app to map the areas where you want the mower to cut the grass. Mapping the lawn requires some skill that I compare to a Gamer who knows how to navigate games with race cars and planes. I did my best but it was obvious by the final result that I needed some practice to improve my skills. Once I confirmed the spaces, I set the level of the height of the grass via the rotary knob on the Mower and then used the app to start the mowing.

In the end, the areas I chose were properly cut. I should mention that we use Clover weed for the front lawn since most species of grass we have tried always perich. The Clover weed looks like a plush lawn when cut and remains green for most of the year. Keep in mind that this test was conducted near the beginning of Winter in NY, so I did not have much lawn to use as a sample.

Before

After

Overall, I like this Mower. Since I do not have a lawn in my backyard and my front yard is open, I must figure out how to install a lock box to secure the device. Segway also provided the Navimow Access+ 4G Access Point to handle any issues resulting from a poor wireless signal. Wireless connectivity is critical for operation since the Mower connects to your home WiFI for access, firmware updates, etc. While I did ensure that it works, I have 7 Access Points around my home and a strong signal no matter where you go inside or outside. I had no wireless signal issues. The Access+ is also an anti-theft device, but since my front yard is completely open, I would not trust anything less than removing the Mower or building some sort of lockbox. Otherwise, I am looking forward to a relaxing lawn season next year.

What I like about the Segway Navimow i Series Robot Mower

• Nice sleek design
• The build quality
• The accessories
• The ease of setup
• The built-in technology
• The performance
• Multi-Zone Mapping

What needs to be improved?

• There is nothing that I can tell so far

Final thoughts

The Segway Navimow i Series Robot Mower takes some work to set up properly to map out the spaces to be mowed. I am not the best Gamer so using the app to guide the Mower was a bit challenging for me. Otherwise, the setup and updating were ok and the Mower did a nice job mowing despite my challenging lawn. I think this is an amazing design and device and I love the integrated GPS technology.

Price: $1299 – Mower, $199 – Garage, $149.99 – Access +
Where to buy: Navimow Store and Amazon
Source: Segway provided a free sample for this review. Segway did not have a final say on the review and did not preview it before it was published.