That there is no phone number for the manufacturer to ask questions of, is a deal breaker for me. As well they could decide the US is not cutting it and walk, leaving the RTK and mower 'in a mess' at best
I was sold on Kress or a Husqvarna 550H EPOS. Kress mowers use GPS satellites and either a mobile network or GNSS antenna to navigate. No reference point required. Also, you don't have to drive the robot around to map your lawn. Kress takes the pilot off the mower and places it on a mapping cart. They roll the mapping cart around your lawns perimeter and it's mapped! I was like that's 2 great advantages over Husqvarna. Right? Kress was supposed to give me a robotic mower to test out and eventually purchase. But their network isn't ready for prime time. For whatever reason, they're using Sprint towers is what my representative told me. Sprint was a horrible mobile carrier and Kress used their towers for their network. So Kress had to back track. Initially, they were going to install a GNSS receiver in my garage that would connect to my WiFi via ethernet cable and place their GNSS antenna on my roof for the mower. My representative from Kress didn't do the site survey for the GNSS, then the story kept changing. He mentioned something about my solar panels and the site survey. I'm a techie and I got a feeling my representative and Kress don't know what they are doing. The story changed to we're going to use the remote option for you. I am like okay. Nevermind, an antenna will be installed at a house within 10 miles of your house so you won't need a receiver-antenna. Then I heard NOTHING for a month. Received an email from my representative. Please sign this contract so we can install the receiver and antenna for FREE. I am done with them and I am ghosting Kress! Especially after watching this video. Why would I want their GNSS receiver in my garage when I can buy a 550H EPOS and it only requires using a reference station? I posted my experience on Reddit. A guy in Tennessee purchased a Kress robotic mower. They told him the signal from the antenna located at the dealer would reach his house. He was told the antenna has 23 miles of range. I told him the range is only 10 miles. He lives 13 miles away from the dealer. Long story short, his $4K robotic mower is a paperweight! He can't connect his robot to their network which doesn't exist or the dealer's antenna. They told him they're going to install an antenna at some location that's near his house. Does this story sound familiar? My AutMow representative disappeared. He told me that he wasn't going to be able to sell Kress mowers due to their stringent requirements.
I was signed up as a dealer. Got the antenna, then was told they can't install it due to vibrations from the nearby train tracks. Waited since June and have no progress. Canceled my dealership. I had high hopes but they are not near ready for their product to launch.
@@tylermiller475 Yeah, I live in a HOA controlled neighborhood with a huge wall around it. We are close to a highway and train tracks some 300 ft away. A train you don't hear or feel. Kress initially said I was good for an antenna. Here sign this contract. I didn't of course. A regional manager tells me my solar panels would be a problem. I'm like really? So who approved this initially? Can you mount the antenna 29 ft on the opposite side of the roof? What about pole mounting it like a DirecTV dish?.....Crickets Kress launched too early and weren't prepared for anything.
You are correct to have called this out. This video was made early on in our understanding of the product and it does not in-fact have WiFi compatibility. Thank you for the correction.
@@nlomas I've only been dealing with the topic myself for a week. It would therefore be better if you found out about the devices yourself on the manufacturers' websites.
Just installed one yesterday at my house (I am a Kress dealer and this was the initial installation for me) and I will say I think they need to make this installation process available to homeowners. The only thing a homeowner currently can't do is activate the pilot and mower. Everything else a tech savvy homeowner would be able to do themselves, and lets be honest the tech savvy homeowner is who will be interested in this mower. The app is a little clunky right now but its early on so I can forgive that. The actual hardware (the mower) seems to be functioning great so far. Time will tell as they establish a broader network for coverage but I think from what I am seeing so far Kress is a real contender.
I was sold on Kress or a Husqvarna 550H EPOS. Kress mowers use GPS satellites and either a mobile network or GNSS antenna to navigate. No reference point required. Also, you don't have to drive the robot around to map your lawn. Kress takes the pilot off the mower and places it on a mapping cart. They roll the mapping cart around your lawns perimeter and it's mapped! I was like that's 2 great advantages over Husqvarna. Right? Kress was supposed to give me a robotic mower to test out and eventually purchase. But their network isn't ready for prime time. For whatever reason, they're using Sprint towers is what my representative told me. Sprint was a horrible mobile carrier and Kress used their towers for their network. So Kress had to back track. Initially, they were going to install a GNSS receiver in my garage that would connect to my WiFi via ethernet cable and place their GNSS antenna on my roof for the mower. My representative from Kress didn't do the site survey for the GNSS, then the story kept changing. He mentioned something about my solar panels and the site survey. I'm a techie and I got a feeling my representative and Kress don't know what they are doing. The story changed to we're going to use the remote option for you. I am like okay. Nevermind, an antenna will be installed at a house within 10 miles of your house so you won't need a receiver-antenna. Then I heard NOTHING for a month. Received an email from my representative. Please sign this contract so we can install the receiver and antenna for FREE. I am done with them and I am ghosting Kress! Especially after watching this video. Why would I want their GNSS receiver in my garage when I can buy a 550H EPOS and it only requires using a reference station? I posted my experience on Reddit. A guy in Tennessee purchased a Kress robotic mower. They told him the signal from the antenna located at the dealer would reach his house. He was told the antenna has 23 miles of range. I told him the range is only 10 miles. He lives 13 miles away from the dealer. Long story short, his $4K robotic mower is a paperweight! He can't connect his robot to their network which doesn't exist or the dealer's antenna. They told him they're going to install an antenna at some location that's near his house. Does this story sound familiar?
We are a Kress Dealer in Sweden, or as we like to see it, the country of robotic lawnmowers ;) (thanks to Husqvarna :)) We are authorized to rent the cartwheel too any customer. Same rules in the US? Might not be since the user and dealer base might be a bit earlier in developing familiarity to the basics in robotic lawnmowers.... I would say this authorization and the in-house-RTK-network is the 2 revolutionary keys to why we are think Kress RTK-system to be the next industry leader - both for domestic and big field mowing!
A couple of questions 1) I really wanted one of these. The closest dealer is 20 miles from my house. He said they should have the network set up soon. That was a year ago. An Automow dealer came about the same distance and after speaking to him, he wanted me to buy one partly because he needed to increase his network. Any idea if Kress is serious about homeowner sales? 2) if something happens where the unit has to be re-mapped, does the dealer have to come out and do it? If so what is a ballpark that this may cost? 3) ok 3 questions, where are you located?
I BROUGHT ONE ABOUT 6 MONTHS AGO AND WORKED BRILLIANT UNTILL TREES HAD LEAVS ON THEM ,NOW IT STRUGGLES ON THAT BIT OF GRASS . ANY IDEAS . THE DEALER SHIP IS ABOUT 1.2 MILES AWAY THANKS
Sorry to hear you are having issues, but this is a fairly common problem with all RTK mowers. Those tree canopies can throw quite the wrench into the operation depending on the time of year. The first you might consider is to adjust the operating schedule and see if you find better performance. Since the constellations are on the move, there are certain times of day (or night) where the connection may be stronger due to co-viewing more satellites. A step further might be to make that a separate zone that you can manage more granularly and not impact the areas of the lawn that are not experiencing issues. A third and final suggestion, without knowing the extent of the issue, it could be an opportunity to landscape around that area and remove the need for mowing with mulch + flowers or maybe a fire pit area (if you don't already have one) or a natural habitat zone. I hope the schedule adjustment is enough to resolve the issue. If not, do reach out to your local dealer and discuss other potential solutions. Thank you for the comment.
That is an interesting question. In the short answer, no, your investment is not bricked and you won't need to pay any additional subscription fees. The antenna used should have others nearby and will ideally be replaced or stay where it is in a timely manner. The most notable change you'll have is not having someone nearby for service and support. Unless there is another nearby, you may wait longer and have to deal more with remote support than local.
Question guys why might I want this instead of some of the others with the issues in reception? It would seem your pool of customers would be very limited. Is there a fix for this?
So the biggest hurdle right now is that the Kress RTKn is newer to the market and their coverage network of RTK stations in the US is relatively limited. It is being built out at a respectable pace, but there are still gaps. If you live in an area with an antenna it should be no problem (assuming the property is not too densely wooded). Feel free to contact us and we can have a look at your area and the potential options.
D'après ce que j'ai pu lire, les models avec gps rtk, par exemple le Kress, disposent de leur propre réseau pour la connexion au robot tondeuse. Qu'en est il pour ton projet ? Que se passe t il en cas de déconnexion mauvaise réception pendant la tonte ?
Thanks for the question. I will start by addressing the last part of it. No, GPS alone is not enough to operate any of the RTK mowers as they still need the RTK correction data for safe and efficient navigation. If the network goes down temporarily, then the mower will not be able to run for that duration. As for permanent issues, in an ideal world it is just a station that goes down and Kress has enough coverage for other stations to provide connection. We're still a bit early on in most places for that though. And if there is a permanent shutdown, then I can't say I would see why or how that would be the case, but I would suspect there will be a lot of unhappy customers. I definitely don't expect that to be a concern as the network is built out and the products are more widely adopted. Hope that helped answer your questions.
It's good to have a dealer for service but to build a product to compete in the NON-Dealer market, it needs to be far-out to reach in features, price, and service to compete, and this product is not, only that it is made overseas and needs dealers here in the US to represent them (period)... I believe Segway is your #1 competitor one can order online and is installed in minutes... Sorry but you need a new approach to keep up.
I wouldn't say that's entirely unfair. It is definitely best suited for medium-rough terrain and nothing too extreme, but that statement applies to most of (if not all) 2WD mowers. AWD models are best suited for considerably rough terrain like hills, roots, rocks, etc. That being said, we are continually surprised by what some of these mowers can handle (at least what we put them through). Thanks for the comment.
