A learning experience for both Luba and myself
Have had the unit for about a month and am satisfied with the results. My back yard is fenced in and has a row of shrubs abut 5 feet from the fence and a row of trees about 5 feet from the shrubs in two locations. The front has areas on both sides of the driveway so I set up 3 areas with paths in between. I have been experimenting with the various settings to minimize the manual trimming in these tree/shrub areas. So far I have tried no go zones around each of the 25 trees and two long zones around two groups of trees. The tree trunks are about 3 inch diameter and 4 feet apart. For the first use I mapped the yard without any no go zones to test the obstacle detection/avoidance. The unit required assistance 3 or 4 times to reposition from it being stuck in the shrubs. After that decided the no go zones would be required and Luba was able to complete the back yard without manual repositioning. Some suggestions for the software based on my yard. Increase the number of perimeter passes settings to 8 or 9 to allow cutting between the two rows of shrubs/trees as the mowing in that area is now hit or miss. As the distance from the front and side of the Luba is different, it would be helpful to have Luba cut closer to the no go zone when traveling parallel to the zone rather than using the larger front distance needed when approaching the zone perpendicular. I have not yet found a way to label the cutting areas and as a result need to change settings for each area as last setting is retained. Last would suggest using a different type of head on the blade retention screws so less downward force is required to remove the screws for blade replacement. A torx, Allen head, or square drive would require less force to remove the screw which would reduce the force on the blade disc. The performance on open lawn is very good and the multiple options for height, cut overlap, straight, crosshatch, and angle are all useful features. I recommend this product.