u/sparkly_awesome

I'm in the market for robot mower and deciding betweern RTK and LiDAR.

My yard has a mix of open areas and sections with trees and partial sky obstruction. I’ve read that RTK depends on GNSS signal quality and sky visibility, while LiDAR relies more on local mapping.

For those who’ve used both, which system feels more consistent in real-world yards with obstacles and partial coverage? Is LiDAR actually more stable in practice, or is RTK reliable enough even in less ideal layouts?

I've noticed my grass behaves totally differently depending on the weather. In rainy day, grass feels like thick and damp, and sunny day is more drier, and stands up straighter. Makes me wonder does a robot mower actually cut differently under different weather?

And here's another thing. I'm trying to decide between LiDAR and RTK-based systems. The RTK sounds great on paper until I realize it loses its mind near trees or on cloudy days. While LiDAR doesn't rely on satellites at all, and does cloud cover or changing light mess with its mapping consistency? Has anyone actually compared these two side by side? Really need your experience! TIA