Honda expands robotic lawnmower range as Miimo HRM 70 Live launches with all-new high-efficiency motors and advanced connectivity

Honda bolsters its robotic Miimo family with the HRM 70 Live. Pairing a smart technology suite, carried over from the HRM 40 Live, with a new powertrain the latest model can tackle lawn areas up to 700m².   

The HRM 70 Live joins Honda’s Miimo robotic lawnmower line-up going on sale in Honda authorised dealers and online at https://store.honda.co.uk/ priced at £1,090. Being the newest and sixth model to join the Miimo pack, the HRM 70 Live arrives sporting all-new hardware, software enhancements as well as new-and-improved functions. All the above bring the model to the cutting edge of autonomous lawnmowers, while retaining all the durable and reliable characteristics that define Honda Lawn & Garden power tools. 

Miimo motors on further, longer and lighter

• 700m² capacity area
• Super-efficient brushless motor
• Lightweight 7.6kg weight

Beneath the familiar fascia, shared with HRM 40 Live, is new running gear that sees Miimo cut with greater efficiency, covering larger areas thanks to a new brushless motor.

Upgrading to a brushless motor realises energy-efficiency gains over HRM 40 Live that allow the new model to run for up to 75 minutes at a time and maintain lawn areas up to 700m² in size. It does so using the same 2.5Ah lithium ion battery found in HRM 40 Live, which has a run time of 45 minutes and an area capacity of 400m². The increased coverage is also a factor of an overall weight of just 7.6kg, some 500g lighter than HRM 40 Live.

Motor control software has been revised based on learnings from Miimo development so far to provide greater traction, in heavy and slippery conditions, precisely deploying drive between the driven wheels to mitigate loss of grip in thicker and wetter grass.

Miimo – enhancing features on a new maintenance-friendly base

• Selectable Border Cut brings the perfect lawn finish from centre to edge
• Larger Place & Mow coverage for those tricky-to-reach patches
• Modified chassis accommodates easily replaceable battery module

Honda’s latest robotic lawnmower features the new Selectable Border Cut and familiar Place & Mow functions. Both offer greater scope to tailor the lawn finish according to the user’s needs. Also a first in the smaller robotic ranks is the replaceable battery module.

Selectable Border Cut considers the importance of a totally pristine lawn. Robotic lawnmowers can leave unwanted tracks on the surface in accessing further-to-reach borders. The new function minimises lawn miles by allowing the user to set/reduce the frequency of border cuts – never, every other cut or every cut – for every full-coverage cycle.

Continuing to offer greater adaptability to keep the lawn in tip-top shape, the familiar Place & Mow featured is improved for HRM 70 Live. Within Miimo’s operational zone, you can place the mower down in any areas normally obstructed by garden furniture and the like to tackle sections up to 4x4m.  

The floorplan design has evolved to make HRM 70 Live easier to service and maintain. Accessed via the undercarriage, the 18V cell can be easily swapped out in minutes with no more tools than a screwdriver. This brings easy serviceability and longevity to the latest Miimo model.

Miimo a-Live, connected and intelligent

• Cuts according its own schedule based live weather forecast and grass-growth
• Control Miimo via a smartphone app and Amazon Alexa voice control
• Miimo mows up to 70% faster than less intelligent machines

HRM 70 Live carries over the HRM 40 Live’s technology suite in full: from automatic scheduling to smart phone app control and optimised route planning.

The Smart Timer function sets a cutting schedule based around the live weather forecast data and a grass growth algorithm, as well user time-based preferences, to automatically generate a bespoke, optimised cutting schedule.

Using the ‘Mii-monitor’ smart phone application (available on Android and iOS devices), the cutting schedule can be reviewed and managed, while push notifications for warning/maintenance alerts can be set up. Another HRM 70 Live control channel comes via Amazon Alexa, which offers voice control over the mower with 306 recognised commands. A further display atop the machine also provides access to control the functions.

Map & Mow technology makes for an easy setup procedure as it allows Miimo to map out the size and shape of the cutting zone as well as commit every inch of the area to its memory. Installation happens in just four steps as a result, with no guide wire required and start/ home points having to be set with the docking station doubling as both.

Miimo’s route-planning logic, which reduces cut time by up to 70% compared to machines following random routes, frees up your garden more of the time and minimises lawn damage caused by excess mileage and wheel tracks. The mapping technology, suite of sensors and full body rubber bumper also help Miimo to return to dock and charge automatically as well as circumvent any obstacles faced when mowing – little can stop Miimo.

Upgrades coming to the Miimo range

All the connected features mentioned above and found in the HRM 40 Live and all-new HRM 70 Live will be applied to the flagship Miimo HRM 3000 later in the season.

The same motor software providing greater traction to the HRM 70 Live is filtering down to the HRM 40 Live to advance its specification.