OpenMower - The affordable Open Source DIY Smart GPS Robotic Mower

The Open Mower project allows you to build your own smart lawn mower robot using the Raspberry Pi and an Arduino. The robot is able to localize itself using very precise RTK GPS. As base for this project, an off-the-shelf robot mower is used. The electric components and the software are published as an open source project.

This robot lawn mower is able to record a map of your lawn and mow it automatically. All path planning and navigation is done on the robot mower directly.

If you want to build your own GPS robotic lawn mower, you can get the hardware and software on GitHub. But since this is an expensive project, I recommend to ask your questions in my Discord before you start building your own robotic lawn mower.

Since many of you asked which mower exactly I bought, it's this one:

LINKS

CHAPTERS
00:00 - Intro
00:34 - About the Project
01:37 - Step 1: Teaching the Map
02:26 - Step 2: Enjoy the Show
03:23 - Robot Mower Hardware
04:47 - End

CREDITS

DISCLAIMER
Under no circumstances will Clemens Elflein be responsible or liable in any way for any content, including but not limited to, any errors or omissions in the content, or for any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of any content communicated in this video, whether by Clemens Elflein or a third party.
In no event shall Clemens Elflein be liable for any special, indirect or consequential damages or any damages whatsoever resulting from loss of use, data or profits arising out of or in connection with the availability, use or performance of any information communicated in this video.
Due to factors beyond the control of Clemens Elflein, he cannot guarantee against improper use or unauthorized modifications of this information.
Clemens Elflein assumes no liability for property damage or injury incurred as a result of any of the information contained in this video.
Use this information at your own risk. Clemens Elflein recommends safe practices when performing any do it yourself repairs and or with tools seen or implied in this video.
Due to factors beyond the control of Clemens Elflein, no information contained in this video shall create any expressed or implied warranty or guarantee of any particular result.
Any injury, damage, or loss that may result from improper use of these tools, equipment, or from the information contained in this video is the sole responsibility of the user and not Clemens Elflein.

[jeffbrownstain]

FOSS is life.
You don't know it yet, but you're actually helping to change the entire world for the better.

[whitejtw]

I am excited about your project! Small suggestion for a video editing tweak - your intro music is much much louder than the voice that comes afterwards. Thank you for all the work you've put into this.

[GavinGreenwood]

That drone footage timelapse of it mowing is awesome!

[SmilingRoboOrg]

This is great, we will upload this to our platfform to make sure this wonderful project will reach more people.

[Scoutth]

That's crazy, you make an outline and any areas not to go and it pretty much makes G-code for the mowers path. This seems very parallel to a computer controlled plotter, laser, or even a 3D printer nozzle moving on a first layer of a print. Really cool idea!

[..]

This is a great project, you'd think by now there'd be a commercial automated lawn mower that works great. Maybe you could even sell this as a kit! Or kickstart an improved version with a single main board.

[Levi-kcpv]

Great video and nice work! It would be great if you did a diy build and showed us the full process of building one. Will be following your channel for updates!

[AfroMyrdal]

This is awesome! I've always hated the random nature of moving that the big companies gives you, but this, this is good!

[DanielLiljeberg]

A colleague and me talked about doing something like this for years but never had the time... We were into GPS, camera etc... But having it learn by using a controller is fast and smart. Hope this pans out!

[demp]

how perfectly he goes trough all the area without leaving a gap looks so satisfying!

[jabatheshort]

Dude I’ve been trying to make my own mower for so long and there was nothing remotely close to this. Your literally pioneering the entire space

[tanjakurzendorfer]

Really great work! I love how you can tell how much attention to detail and effort went into the project. Looking forward to seeing more content from you!

[DJ-ukmm]

Looks like loads of companies have taken your idea and an hour flogging it around the world. I’ve had a robotic lawnmower for nearly 9 years I’ve been waiting for GPS. I’ve just come across your YouTube channel at the same time and seeing lots of companies launch their GPS-based robotic lawnmowers there obviously using your technology. Well done.

[JimiMoore]

I have been hoping/dreaming for someone to create an open source mowing platform like this! I'll be watching this like a hawk for the next year.

[MagnusWendt]

Yes! I have been thinking of doing this exact same project for *years*, but have never gotten around to it. One use case for "structured mowing" is challenging hills. Let the mower climb on lesser incline and let it descend down a steeper hill. That way it won't get stuck and dig a hole with the wheels. You could draw routes and perimeters on a map in your browser. Bring it with you on your vacation without having to install stuff (except a RTK base station). Move it it from place to place and have perfect fixed object avoidance. Now I just need to find the time to follow your plans which is a much lesser problem than starting from scratch :) I have played around with that same Ardusimple GPS before. Stupid accurate! And in my setup I had a dual gps rover setup that gives perfect heading even at stand still.

[dillpickle]

Super cool man! With some industrial suppliers and some well written instructions this lawnmower could be for anyone.

[nicolasfourmon]

Awesome work, and brilliant idea.
I had the same thought when I started to look for a lawn-mower robot: they're basically dumb!
So I'm not buying one until they either get smarter or drastically cheaper.

They basically all require some wiring all around the area and can't really jump by themselves from one area to another (I, for example, have two areas to mow in my garden that are separated by a paved area).
I always wondered why lawn-mower robot manufacturers struggle that much in making intelligent devices whereas vacuum robots like the one I own for already 6 years (Xiaomi Roborock S5) is literally painting a map of my house and discovering it by itself.

Anyway, I'm really glad that some smart project like yours starts moving things forward!

[ApprenticeGM]

That's fantastic - thanks for sharing! So much better than robot mowers available on the market in Oz!

[thatguy.h]

Totally awesome. I look forward to your updates! I can’t spend $900ish for the shell and motors, so I’ll be looking around for a 3d printable version of a suitable shell.

Again, great job!

[JeremyTBradshaw]

Amazing stuff. I should have seen it coming, open-source is definitely the fastest way to get these things working without boundary/guide wires. The big vendors will not have the ability to put in the effort like an open-source community will. But they could and should join forces with the community and implement this solution into their product lines, rather than waste their time trying to develop their own from scratch. The idea of automower's coming with onboard API's to tie into with the open-source control software is kinda cool.