What is systematic mowing?

Systematic mowing is a feature that enables your Automower® robotic lawn mower with EPOS™ technology to cut grass systematically in parallel tracks, creating a striped effect on the lawn.

It is currently available for the following models:

Advantages of systematic mowing vs irregular mowing

• Increases the work area capacity by at least 50% on typical residential lawns.
• In open areas such as football pitches and other large green spaces, the work area capacity can increase by up to 100%.
• Provides more predictable mowing times for designated work areas. 
• Offers three different mowing patterns: parallel, chequerboard and triangle, creating a striped effect on the lawn.
• Allows for a flexible selection of cutting directions to ensure optimal area coverage and grass health.

Pattern alternatives

There are three pattern alternatives for systematic mowing:

• Parallel pattern: The mower navigates the lawn in parallel tracks. It starts every mowing session in the designated corner of the lawn and moves in the same direction, creating a striped pattern on the lawn. 
• Chequerboard pattern: The mower mows the entire lawn in one direction, and during the next mowing session it mows at a 90-degree angle to the previous session. It alternates direction between sessions, creating a chequerboard pattern on the lawn. 
• Triangle pattern: The mower mows the entire lawn in one direction, and during the next mowing session it mows at a 60-degree angle from the previous session. It changes direction between sessions, creating a triangle pattern on the lawn. With this pattern, the stripes on the lawn are less visible than with the parallel or chequerboard patterns. 

How to select a mowing pattern?

To select a mowing pattern, follow these steps:

• Open the Automower® Connect App.
• Navigate to the map section > Select area > Choose Pattern.
• Set the pattern direction by defining two points on the map. You can snap the points to existing waypoints on the map to align the direction with your installation.
• Select the preferred pattern: parallel, chequerboard or triangle.

Systematic vs irregular mowing

The choice between systematic and irregular mowing depends on the characteristics of your lawn as well as your personal preferences. 

When to choose systematic mowing?

When to choose irregular mowing?

• Irregular mowing is ideal for lawns with slopes, complex work areas and areas with many obstacles such as trampolines or flower beds.
• To achieve an even mowing effect as the lawn is cut uniformly from all directions. 

Combining systematic and irregular mowing 

It is possible to assign systematic mowing for some areas of the lawn and irregular mowing for others.

When combining systematic mowing and irregular mowing in your garden, consider these scenarios:

• If an irregular work area is scheduled before a systematic one, the mower will start mowing the irregular work area. When the scheduled time for the area with systematic mowing starts, the mower will move to that area, finish mowing and then return to the irregular mowing area until the scheduled time ends.
• If an irregular and a systematic mowing area are scheduled to start simultaneously, the mower will begin mowing in the work area that hasn’t been mowed for the longest amount of time.

How does systematic mowing work?

Mapping of the garden

Upon installation, the robotic lawn mower creates a cutting path based on the pre-selected mowing direction and the lawn’s shape as well as known obstacles such as islands and stay-out zones. 

Starting the mowing process

The mower begins mowing in a corner of the lawn selected by the mower. It then proceeds to cut along the calculated paths, keeping a slight offset between each mowing session to prevent track marks and ensure full coverage.

Completing the mowing process

The mower continues to cut until the entire area is completed or the scheduled time ends. A final mowing along the perimeter ensures the removal of any uncut grass along the boundary and obstacles.

Systematic mowing and scheduling

When using systematic mowing, keep these scheduling tips in mind:

• The mower will park itself if it finishes the work area before the end of the scheduled mowing session. 
• If an area is not completed during one mowing session, the mower will start the next scheduled session where the previous session ended.
• If the lawn isn’t fully cut after a mowing session, extend the scheduled hours to allow more time for mowing.
• If another mowing session in the same work area is scheduled on the same day, the mower will mow the area again.
• A mowing session will be interrupted if the virtual map or pattern settings are changed, or if the work area is not completed within 72 hours.
• The mowing progress can be monitored via the Automower® Connect App. The message ’Areas completed’ will appear when a session is completed.

Systematic mowing and object avoidance

When systematic mowing is enabled and the mower detects an unexpected object on the lawn, it stops in front of the object and continues mowing as planned (yellow lines in the illustration below), avoiding the area where the object is located. The area behind the object remains uncut until the rest of the scheduled area is mowed.

After finishing the planned area, the mower moves to the uncut area behind the object to complete the mowing (red lines in the illustration below).

Please note, any uncut areas less than 1 metre/3.3 feet between an unexpected obstacle and the virtual boundary will remain uncut. 

Systematic mowing: Information and tips

• For optimal area coverage and grass health, we recommend that you alternate the cutting direction. This ensures that all areas of the lawn are evenly cut and maintained.
• For sloping lawns, we recommend that you set the pattern direction to move straight up the slope to prevent grass wear.
• For work areas with obstacles, create EPOS™ stay-out zones around the obstacles and select a pattern with varying directions to achieve good cutting results.

Please contact your local Husqvarna dealer if you need further assistance with the installation or operation of your Automower® robotic lawn mower.