Segway continues to expand beyond the personal mobility devices that made it famous. Now owned by Segway-Ninebot, following a 2015 acquisition, the brand announced an upgraded version of its boundary-wire-free robot lawn mower, along with new backup power solutions at CES on Tuesday.
Segway Navimower i-series robot lawn mowers
Segway says 30,000 of its current robot mower, the Navimow H series, are mowing lawns today, despite that model not being available in the U.S. If you’re thinking that’s a low number for a consumer product, know that robot mowers are much less common than other household robots, such as vacuum cleaners. Not being available in the largest market for robot mowers is also a factor, as is their cost: Until recently, a robot lawn mower might cost two to three times more than even a riding mower.
Segway-Ninebot
That’s slowly changing, with today’s typical robot mower achieving at least price parity with riding mowers; some models are even cheaper. Segway’s Navimow H series ranges in price from $1,500 to $3,000.
Segway says it intends to ship its next-gen mower, the Navimow i series, worldwide. These models feature the company’s Exact Fusion Locating System, which includes a real-time kinematic positioning (RTK) algorithm to improve positional accuracy.
Kinematic positioning is used in GPS to correct errors in satellite position. At the risk of over-simplifying a complex topic, real-time kinetic positioning looks for the most common errors caused by how radio signals work and automatically applies correction.
An integrated vision system works in concert with RTK positioning to help the Navimow i locate itself in the world and avoid obstacles that might be in its way. Segway says the mower can identify and avoid more than 20 different objects, including trees, curbs, small animals, and—perhaps most importantly—running children.
The Navimow i doesn’t come with integrated cellular connectivity standard, like Husqvarna’s and some other robot mowers do, but buyers can add 4G connectivity to Segway’s product as an option.
Segway Cube back-up power
Segway Cube 1000 (left) and Cube 2000 battery-based backup power supplies.
Segway-Ninebot
Segway also showed off its Cube line of backup electrical power solutions, suitable for anything from charging your smartphone to running your refrigerator. Three models are on display: The $999 Cube 1000, capable of delivering 1kWh, the Cube 2000, which can supply 2kWh for $1,749, and the Cube 3000 (3kWh), which will ship later in 2024. The price for that model was not announced at the show. This largest model will be equipped with wheels, to make it easy to move around.
The Cube 1000 and Cube 2000 can be fully charged in less than two hours, and they can be stacked to deliver 5,000kWh of backup power. In the event of an extended power outage, they can be recharged with Segway Solar Panels. The portable batteries are outfitted with 12 power ports: 3 AC, 4 USB, 2 USB-C, a car-charger socket, and 2 DC ports.
