u/EdmundKhan

I've had the LUBA MINI 800 AWD now a full season. I love it, and it does its work, but as a developer, it hurts me to see how stupid it is, knowing it could be so much better with good programming.

I didn't list all the good things, but rather focused on the bad, which is mostly software-related.

The Good:

• Unstoppable: The AWD concept is super, it's powerful, and nothing stops it.
• Reliable: The hardware is OK, with no failures for now.
• User Friendly: Setup is easy, and backing up maps to the cloud is very nice.

The Average:

• App Connectivity: The app is OK for most parts, but I hate that it disconnects the moment you lock the phone. Having to fully close the app, reopen it, and reconnect is a major annoyance.
• Mapping UI: Map setup needs some sort of voice warning when it stops recording the map. I've missed it many times because I was focused on driving the mower, not looking at the screen, only to realize after making a full circle that it stopped 5 minutes ago 😊.
• Camera Feed: The FPV video feed is nice when it connects, but it's always slow regardless of the connection.

The Bad (Software & Pathing):

• Location Inaccuracy: While charging, it knows exactly where the charger location is, yet the mower is shown 1 meter away from it.
• Obstacle Avoidance: The video camera detects obstacles but then leaves an 30cm area of tall grass around them. It acts as if it doesn't know its own size and thinks it's way bigger than it really is.
• Terrible Path Calculation: The path calculation is really bad.

Overlapping perimeters with interior paths

When selecting only 1 perimeter, the interior doesn't expand to fill the gap.

Overlapping outside and no-go zones perimeters

Adaptive direction in narrow paths does not work

My Pleas to the Developers:

• Steal from 3D Printing: Please hire a developer who does 3D print algorithms. This is basically a first-layer slicer, and they do such great things there. I bet you could directly use Slic3r (https://slic3r.org/) for this.
• Fix the Steering: Direction changes less than 10° shouldn't be done with a 3-point turning algorithm. It should just steer; why does it have omnidirectional wheels if it doesn't use them for this?.
• Unlock Advanced Settings: The app needs to open up and let users set up advanced features. We need presets per zone, control over when it goes back to recharge, and when it goes back out. Let us set offsets for the automatically calculated "battery full enough, let's continue moving" logic, because right now it sometimes goes out way too soon or waits way too long.
• Map Editor: We can back up maps to the cloud, which is awesome. But can we please get an editor to actually edit them in the browser?.
• Remote Driving: Why can't we drive the mower via WiFi/4G?. There are so many occasions where it gets stuck and we could easily fix it remotely.

Hardware Gripes:

• Rain Sensor: It doesn't work well. The mower needs to be still and have lots of water on it to notice it's raining. When moving, the water just shakes off before it can trigger the sensor.
• Underbelly Design: Why does the mower need all the fins and stuff on the business end?. It's so much harder to clean, and all those angles do nothing for the rigidity.
• Cables: The connectors on the RTK antenna and the charging station need to be detachable so we can disconnect them without pulling out our nicely installed cables.