Mammotion LUBA 2 Robot Lawnmower Review
Mammotion have pitched the LUBA 2 as a robotic innovation that goes beyond merely mowing flat, ordinary lawns. They boldly claim it can handle steep slopes, uneven ground, and large multi-zoned areas of up to 5000m², all without needing a guide wire. But the question remains: Can it seriously replace a traditional mower?
Design
Mammotion have given the exterior shaping of this robot mower an RC-like car persona, with contoured lines, an arrangement of front wheels that lean heavily on Formula 1 stylings and the 3D sensor on top looks a bit like a cockpit from a distant glance. We find the design impressive, but it was the meticulous engineering beneath the surface that truly won us over. The adaptive suspension arms, omni-directional wheels, and structural integrity of the frame and axle make this the most robust mower we’ve tested—not just among robot mowers, but across all mowers we’ve used.
Leaving LUBA 2 outside through heavy rain, strong winds and extreme humidity may seem cruel, but it still looks pristine. Its body remains that same gleaming white as when we unboxed it and it’s free of scratches, thanks to a well-thought-out software and hardware combination that we’ll elaborate on later. The underside is sealed in plastic to prevent grass clippings from collecting inside the body, which is a first for any robot mower we’ve tested. A simple wipe is all it takes to remove residue grass, and also hosted here are dual cutting disks with eight individual, replaceable blades.
It’s certainly the most attractive robot lawnmower we’ve yet to test. But what is difficult to convey through our photos is just how large it is with its very generous 40cm cutting width, hence we’re very thankful for the remote control mode on the app allowing us to navigate when taking photos for this review, because repeatedly picking it up and placing it down when it measures 690 (L) x 513 (W) x 273mm (H) and weighs 17.65kg would have been a challenging workout. Of course, there’s no other option than to carry it via the handles, which are well positioned to be at the centre of weight, if another mowing zone isn’t accessible via you driving LUBA 2 there.
Three models explained:
LUBA 2 AWB 1000 - £2,149.00/$2,099.00 Max mowing size of 1000m² - Max multi-zone management 10
LUBA 2 AWB 3000 - £2,549.00/$2,499.00 Max mowing size of 3000m² - Max multi-zone management 20 (Our model)
LUBA 2 AWB 5000 - £2,949.00/$2,899.00 Max mowing size of 5000m² - Max multi-zone management 30
A Playful Setup Process
There are a few pieces to assemble on the LUBA 2 itself as illustrated, but we raced through these steps in a matter of minutes to go outside where we began to decide where to place the base and RTK. It is important that the RTK reference station is in clear line of the sky, because if placed beneath trees or shrubbery there can be complications; as we discovered from our initial experiences, needing to relocate it a few days after initial setup. A separate cable is supplied so the RTK can be positioned independently away from the actual charging base allowing for a more flexible clearance of clear sky view; and there’s even a solar kit that can be purchased separately and that would enable a position which didn’t rely on a power outlet, with no cable to drape. Weirdly the most time consuming part of the whole setup was not any of the physical steps or joining the RTK and LUBA 2 mower onto our network, it was downloading successive software updates. This was mired by the RTK station also requiring updates, so the robot mower did one update and then so did the RTK and this repeated for some time. Of course, the mower refused to acknowledge its own existence until both were fully up to date.
Unlike the Ambrogio ZR robot mower we reviewed last summer, where there’s also no physical boundary to establish, Mammotion LUBA 2 does require the establishment of a virtual boundary, but it does so in a rather fun way. After setting up the base and establishing the updates, you’re off to the races, quite literally, by using the app, with virtual joypad controls, to race the LUBA 2 around the perimeter of each zone. This can be altered after the fact, so we liked that we could establish a reasonably quick outline of a zone and refine in some of the bends and edges after we had seen it mowing. You can also conjoin zones together and mark out no-go zones.
Mammotion App
The app has useful depth, a responsive design, and combined with its clean interface, makes managing our lawns feel like a seamless extension of the mower’s hands-off approach. Establishing cutting zones is relatively swift and scheduling cutting routines is a breeze. Furthermore the app allows you to fine-tune various aspects of the lawn’s cut, offering options for different mowing styles and even the geometry of cut. You can choose between linear zigzag mowing patterns for an efficient, striped finish, or a chessboard effect (takes more than twice as long), or a random self designed pattern such as a brand logo or a message (the latter we haven’t tried yet). The app also lets you create custom zones with specific settings for each area, adjusting the cutting height between 25-70mm to suit the lawn’s conditions, cutting speed, path spacing and number of perimeter mowing laps, and it all comes together to ensure a consistent and ‘tailored to your liking’ finish across entire lawns. Whether it’s precise edge trimming or focusing on areas with thicker growth, the app gives you full control over the mower’s cutting strategy. A critical aspect in the way this thing swaggers wasn’t so much its self awareness, but that it’s the first robot mower we’ve used which can mow in lines, and once you see a robot mower doing this, you realise how glaringly more efficient it is as a method of mowing. This also allows the opportunity to serve much larger lawns of up to 5000m² (model dependent).
When the Mammotion LUBA 2 is mowing, the app provides real-time monitoring, so you can track the mower’s progress on the map, know how long it will take to finish, receive notifications if any issues arise, and most importantly when it has finished. Additionally, it includes options for configuring obstacle avoidance settings, checking battery levels, and remotely controlling the mower’s movement whilst seeing where you are going through the onboard camera, all from your smartphone.
Manoeuvring
Previous guide wire-free robot mowers couldn’t be used on all our lawned areas where sudden drops were present, such as those along our boardwalk-style pathway, decking area, and raised lawn sections with stone walls. However, after mapping out the perimeter virtually, the LUBA 2 understands the layout immediately—or at least most of the time. In some areas it’s less precise, likely due to the severity of the side drops that produce this one quirk. On rare occasions, we’ve seen it stray a centimetre or two from the edge we initially mapped, but this only happens when it begins mowing because it quickly calibrates and returns to normal behaviour. That said, when it’s mowing near the edge of a granite stone with a two metre drop to a lower decking area, it’s still a concern. As a precaution, we’ve programmed the mower to be extra cautious in this zone. Despite these concerns, the accuracy of the onboard GPS and GPS RTK station, which has a range of up to 5km, has been remarkably reliable 99.9% of the time. This level of precision, particularly when compared to the laborious guide wire installation process, allows the LUBA 2 to navigate within centimetres of the mapped area. Even when the mower moves under tree canopies, the RTK station maintains a seamless connection via satellites.
Its array of binocular vision, ultrasonic radar, and substantial front bumper has mostly kept it out of trouble, giving us confidence that we don’t need to set up no-go zones in new areas we introduce the LUBA 2 within. Even with bushes, apple trees and garden furniture, we rely on the mower to figure things out on its own. We’d definitely credit the Mammotion LUBA 2 with being self-aware and quite intelligent. For temporary obstacles like someone walking into its path, a pet lying down, or a ball landing nearby, the LUBA 2 detects them with its 3D camera and sensors, processes the situation, and steers clear. Alternatively, you can fine-tune the settings for a gentle touch against the mower’s front bumper sensor, allowing for a closer, more refined cut around obstacles like trees. It seems no-go areas are more necessary when introducing things like badminton nets in the summer, and by setting these you can ensure it stays clear of the guide wires.
One gripe we have is that all its autonomous abilities evaporate when it comes to travelling between multiple zones that aren’t directly connected or even nearby. Say we want to mow our front or side lawns that are only accessible via gravel pathways which the LUBA 2 can manually drive along when controlled via remote control. It would be nice if you could take this journey via RC and then the mower would remember it as part of a schedule.
Lawn Cutting Performance
The LUBA 2 delivers one of the most flawless lawn finishes we’ve ever witnessed, leaving our grass looking like it’s been professionally manicured. The very wide 40cm cutting width obviously speeds up the mowing process as it can quickly cover a large area and is identical to the large decked WORX WG743E.1 40V cordless lawnmower we reviewed last year. Importantly though, it evidently leaves stripes when we select that particular mowing pattern and the blades of grass are cleanly cut off for universal evenness without any noticeable snagging. Something British lawns often suffer with is moss, due to general dampness, and the moss can penetrate to the surface of the lawn causing a tugging effect from lawnmowers with a rotary style of blade, thus becoming jammed and ripping up patches of lawn. We have a few moss affected areas where the LUBA 2 has cut, and its multi-blade design has confidently avoided any issues, despite a shorter cutting style than we’d normally opt for at 40mm, so we can now look out at an even green surface.
Despite its larger size compared to other robot mowers, the Mammotion LUBA 2’s ability to navigate around and between obstacles to reach every piece of visible grass in its zone is mesmerising. Thanks to its omni-directional wheels (which have multiple rollers mounted around the circumference) and motorised four-wheel AWD design, it can move in any direction: forwards, backwards and sideways. This allows for smooth pivots and direction changes without the need for wide turns, making it gentle on the lawn. We’ve noticed that these swift movements don’t disturb the striping effect or tuft up the grass. On its first outing, we challenged the LUBA 2 with steep, uneven terrain—including slopes nearing a 38° incline and very uneven ground featuring burrowed holes dug by animals. The AWD system handled these obstacles effortlessly, with each motorised wheel independently controlling speed and direction. It climbed inclines and cut as easily as it mowed flat ground, neither the wheels or blade getting stuck or struggling with difficult terrain. Unlike some non-robotic mowers that require raising the blade on steeper sections to avoid grounding, the LUBA 2’s sensors map ground level changes and adjust without any grounding issues. Whether the blade actually lifts during mowing is unclear, but it can be adjusted via the app between sessions without needing tools—a welcome convenience compared to other mowers that require flipping over and adjusting with a screwdriver. This ease of use, especially across multiple zones, is a real game-changer.
Even though the blade design and motor performance easily handle thick grass, small twigs, and leaves, one lawn that hadn’t been cut in a week, with 9cm in growth, showed that the LUBA 2 leaves a line of cut grass as it mows and repeated paths over this does not improve the situation, it’s still present. This is unlike the Ambrogio Twenty ZR, which hones in on thicker areas and spirals to mulch the clippings until they’re barely visible on the surface. So, if you implement this as your sole mowing operation, its cutting style is little and often, as is the case with pretty much every robot mower we’ve tested. (Although we did spot that Mammotion have a grass collecting robot model called YUKA.) The LUBA 2 can cut in the rain if you so want. We’ve seen how well the blade setup deals with wet grass when it’s cutting 1-2cm off, and it’s still amazingly efficient. Nevertheless, we have rain detection enabled, so it doesn’t mow or ceases to mow when it feels water fall on it.
Cutting the edges of lawns which lay next to flat pathways is easy to set up when making the perimeter so the cut overlays the entire edge for a complete edge cut, and when a wall or any vertical object is at the lawn’s edge, the LUBA 2 is able to get its body side very tightly against the edge thanks to its blade design, but with sharper corners and areas with intricate landscaping, it can miss small patches meaning we still need to keep the trimmer handy.
Mammotion LUBA 2 can deliver between 120-150 minutes of battery runtime, and to put this into context our lawns are mowed at a speed of around 500-600 square metres per hour depending on the complexity of the lawn, the cutting pattern and speed of cut selected, which is generally on the faster side with us. This is fairly quick and for that reason it spends more time on the base than out on the lawn when compared to other robomowers. Also worth mentioning is that it’s basically operationally silent when we’re indoors; the blade contact with the grass outdoors is faintly wispy and its movement noise is very discreet too.
Verdict
The Mammotion LUBA 2 is a robot lawnmower that even the most dedicated manual mowing enthusiast would appreciate. With its advanced engineering, it delivers a build that tops anything we’ve seen in the robotic outdoor space to date and most importantly it delivers plush and evenly cut striped lawns, effortlessly handling everything from steep slopes to uneven terrain across multiple zones that are easily set up with no need for a perimeter wire. Quiet, very precise and speedy, the LUBA 2 sets a new standard in robotic lawn care and we’re excited to see what the company does next.
