The Oasa R1 promises a “premier” robot mowing experience. The new mower, which hit Kickstarter on June 26, has already pulled in more than 800% of its funding target in less than 12 hours, the company behind the mower claims. Oasa claims the R1 is the “world’s first robotic reel mower,” and it looks to offer a suite of different features that will likely entice fans of freshly mowed lawns that don’t want to have to do the job themselves.
Oasa says its robot mower has a wide 13-inch cutting path and can cut at heights between 0.8 and 4 inches, giving you a good bit of room to get your grass as high or as low as you want it. The company claims on the Kickstarter page that it can also ride on the edges of sidewalks to give complete coverage and cuts close to fences—within two inches.
Being the world’s first robotic reel mower means you don’t have to worry about changing out blades and other things like that. The actual cutting blades are pushed along by the movement of the robot itself. Oasa also says the blades are self-sharpening, which should help you always get that perfect, pristine cut. We’ve seen some promising robot mowers in the past, but this is reportedly the first with self-sharpening blades based on Oasa’s claim.
The Oasa R1 is more than just the world’s first robotic reel mower. It also supports full LiDAR-Vision perception. That means the robot can create a very precise map of your lawn, including the boundaries you want it to rely on, without relying on GPS signals. This means you can set it and forget it—allowing for a “fully automated and hassle-fee lawn care” system.
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Several YouTubes have already gotten their hands on the new mower, and they seem to be impressed with its capabilities overall. Based on the features Oasa is pushing here, it’s pretty easy to see why folks seem to be flocking to back the project—and why the amount of backers continues to go up.
Oasa says the secret to its groundbreaking robotic reel mower is the 335mm reel, which helps deliver a “clean and scissor-like low cut” every mow. Unlike traditional rotary blades, which dull over time and tear at grass, the self-sharpening blades on the Oasa R1 should remain sharp without any additional maintenance on your end.
The mower also comes with rainfall detection so that it can return to its dock if it starts to rain during its mowing session. That’s definitely handy, as you hopefully won’t have to worry about your expensive robot mower getting drenched.
You can check out the Oasa R1 on Kickstarter. There are a few different tiers available if you want to back it, and the company is offering a super early bird price during its Kickstarter campaign.