Anthbot M9 Robot Lawn Mower Review

About the Anthbot M9 robot lawn mower

• Mowing Area: 1000 square meters (.25 acres)
• Positioning System: Full-Band RTK + Dual Vision (Support Dual RTKs & NetRTK)
• Battery Capacity: 5Ah / 90 Wh
• Charging Time: 90 min.
• Obstacle Avoidance: AI Vision
• Max Slope: 24 degrees / 45%
• Cutting Mechanism: 5 blades on a 20 cm. cutting disc

How we tested

I always thought that robot lawn mowers were like most robot vacuums and were just for maintaining already picture-perfect environments, so I knew my backyard would be the ultimate test of slope navigation, AI object avoidance, and all-terrain tires.

I’m not winning any lawn-of-the-year awards any time soon. The lawn is not only oddly-shaped, but mostly consists of patchy spots, random shrubs, and yes, holes that my dogs won’t stop digging. Beautifying the yard is on my never-ending to-do list, but you know how life goes.

There are also narrow pathways behind trees and bushes that I can’t navigate with my riding lawn mower.

To test, I set up the Anthbot M9 robot lawn mower and used the Auto-Mapping feature, which required minimal manual intervention thanks to the fencing. I didn’t change any of the features for the first mow, keeping everything at its default setting.

What we like

Mowing performance is strong

No number of features can make up for a mower if the performance isn’t there. Luckily, that wasn’t a problem with the M9. Even on the default settings, the mower follows a U-shaped pattern to give the clean, crisp lawn lines that you know and love. You can change the settings to send the mower through again to create criss-cross patterns for thorough coverage, change the mowing height, or set it to specific zones or edging.

Intelligent obstacle avoidance and navigation

During the first mow, I camped outside with a chair and sat to watch the Anthbot M9 do its thing, expecting to have to intervene at some point. I assumed the robot lawn mower might get stuck in a hole, bump into the hedge trimmings left in the corner, or get stuck under the riding lawn mower in the yard.

Instead, the dual-camera vision and AI depth recognition offered superior navigation, especially when combined with the all-terrain tires. If the M9 found itself stuck in a patchy spot or crevice, it could use its tires to get out or reset itself to avoid these spots altogether.

Zones can be added in the app to avoid dangerous or rough terrain, like pools or gravel. Object sensitivity can also be changed in the app, and it is able to detect items as small as 10 centimeters by 10 centimeters.

Setup and mapping are truly seamless

The Anthbot M9 is truly as plug-and-play as a robot lawn mower can get. Instead of relying on perimeter wire, the M9 uses full-band RTK navigation. Putting together the RTK station only required twisting a few sections into place and plugging in some cables, which have color-coded tags for easy differentiation. After that, all that’s required is connecting to Bluetooth and Wi-Fi and starting the mapping process, which can be automatic if your yard has clear boundaries like mine.

About 90% of my yard could be mapped automatically, with only assistance needed to navigate the trees and shrubs that take up a large corner of my yard. A virtual bridge can be added to connect the mower between two mowable areas, with a patio, driveway, or other unmowable area in the middle. If your back and front yards are connected, you can set it to automatically switch between zones.

Quiet operation

There’s nothing worse than waking up on the weekend to your neighbor loudly mowing the lawn at 7 am, which, to be fair, is the only time to do it in July. The Anthbot M9 is whisper-quiet, to the point that I wondered if it was mapping or mowing until I saw the lawn clippings.

What we don’t like

Grass clippings require manual cleanup

This is technically my fault; If you mow your lawn often, these large grass clippings won’t be such a problem. But since it had been a while since my last mow, there was a bit that required a rake, a mulcher, or a leaf blower to disperse.

If you want a robot lawn mower that has a bag, you can wait until June for the Anthbot N series to hit the market.

A full-yard mow may require multiple charges

The 5Ah battery offers around 70–90 minutes of runtime, depending on the thickness of the grass. For the first mow, the Anthbot M9 finished around 80% of my lawn in 77 minutes before returning to recharge. Once it's fully charged, the robot will resume from where it left off.

Warranty

The device and charging station come with a 3-year warranty, while the battery is covered under a 2-year warranty.

Should you buy the Anthbot M9 robot lawn mower?

Yes, if you have a smaller yard and want a hands-off experience

The compact Anthbot M9 robot lawn mower (available at Amazon) packs a serious punch at a price that can’t be beat. If you need a device that’s as close to “set it and forget it” as they come, the Anthbot M9 is a great option. It can detect up to 1,000 obstacles, including rain and other inclement weather, and offers robust scheduling options that require little human intervention.