“Lawn Care” for Robotic Lawn Mowers: TÜV Rheinland Develops New Standard

New certification evaluates the lawn-friendly performance of robotic lawn mowers for the first time / Expanded testing criteria for demanding operating conditions / Greater transparency for manufacturers and consumers / www.tuv.com

TÜV Rheinland is expanding its testing and certification portfolio for robotic lawn mowers with the new “Lawn Care” certification. With this, the company is setting another industry standard and supporting manufacturers in specifically designing new products to protect and ensure the long-term health of lawns.

Focus on lawn health and user needs

The new certification evaluates the ability of robotic lawn mowers to protect the lawn during operation while ensuring high mowing quality. This allows manufacturers to reliably determine how their products perform under standardized conditions. At the same time, the certification provides end consumers with guidance when making a purchase decision.

The experts at TÜV Rheinland simulate one month of device use and, for the “Lawn Care” certification, test the following, among other things:

• Cutting performance in basic mowing scenario: assessing coverage, efficiency, cutting quality, lawn care, and obstacle avoidance
• Omnidirectional driving and mowing: evaluating omnidirectional slope driving and lawn care performance on its claimed slope
• Performance under demanding conditions: Tests in complex scenarios such as dense grass or winding garden layouts
• User-friendliness: Evaluation of installation, maintenance, and app and operating concepts

In particular, the cut quality at varying lawn densities, the evenness of the cut, and a good mowing result when navigating slopes provide insight into whether the robotic mowers treat the lawn gently.

Focus on continuous innovation

The first certification under the new “Lawn Care” standard took place in April 2026 in China. “The market for robotic lawn mowers is developing very dynamically,” says Frank Holzmann, Global Business Field Manager at TÜV Rheinland. “Customer expectations are rising, and with them, those of manufacturers. In addition to efficiency and automation, the focus is increasingly shifting to how gently the devices treat the lawn.” Last year, TÜV Rheinland had already developed a standard for robotic lawn mowers with the “Q-mark” certification that goes far beyond the traditional testing of safety aspects. With “Lawn Care,” another important building block for the comprehensive evaluation of modern robotic lawn mowers has now been added.