Ecovacs Goat GX-600 · Greenworks AiMowbot C20Z

Wire elimination buys nothing to install. No perimeter wire, no beacon, no base station and no correction subscription. What you take on instead is a boundary the mower has to see, which depends on the lawn edge staying legible to a camera.

Excellent on known terrain; the mower builds its map over the first runs and then operates with minimal variability. The floor is high, but the 600 m2 ceiling is the same as compact wire-guided alternatives.

RTK accuracy removes perimeter-wire labor but concentrates installation friction: base-station mounting and sky-view siting are critical setup steps, not optional.

4WD and vision replace gas-engine maintenance, but blade replacements and RTK station cleaning remain seasonal obligations, just at lighter intensity than the Optimow’s wire-and-blade churn.

Yards over 600 m2, or borders the camera cannot read

Rated for 600 m2, about 6,460 sq ft. Dense canopy that flattens the contrast between turf and border, or an edge grown out into beds and gravel, can affect boundary recognition.

Steep slopes above 40% gradient

Ecovacs rates the GX-600 at 22 degrees, which is a 40 percent gradient. Above the rating the machine is outside the manufacturer's figure. Traction on any robotic mower drops on wet grass, so grip on a steep bank is lowest after rain.

Owners seeking centimeter-precision stripe patterns

Camera-based boundary detection does not provide RTK-level centimeter accuracy between passes. Stripe-focused owners should choose dedicated RTK platforms.

Owners seeking lowest-cost entry point

Wire-guided alternatives deliver similar coverage and autonomy at lower lifetime cost for small yards.

Terrain above the rated gradient, or ground that will not hold traction.

Greenworks rates the C20Z to 24 degrees (45 percent grade) on four-wheel drive. Ground steeper than that sits outside the rating. Thick undergrowth or standing water causes traction and navigation faults independent of slope.

Owners requiring buried perimeter-wire setup.

RTK paired with vision is the only boundary method; there is no wire alternative and no way to skip the app-based setup. Remote scheduling and monitoring need an internet or 4G connection, though mowing itself does not stop when that connection does.

Properties larger than 0.5 acres or requiring multi-zone scheduling.

Single-charge cycle covers roughly 0.4-0.5 acres depending on grass height. Larger lawns need docile pause-and-recharge cycle breaks. No multi-zone or perimeter-subdivision feature documented.