The ban on \u201cadvanced robotic devices\u201d ostensibly exists, according to an FCC FAQ<\/a>, to prevent \u201cunacceptable risks to the national security of the United States\u201d and targets those \u201ccapable of locomotion, obstacle avoidance, navigation, or movement on the ground.\u201d That seems to include robot mowers, and no representative of a robot mower manufacturer I spoke with at IFA seemed especially confident that its device would make it to the U.S. In general, the responses I got when I asked about potential U.S. releases were along the lines of \u201cwe\u2019re working to understand current U.S. regulations.\u201d<\/p>\n The U.S. government taking steps to deal with the cybersecurity risks of connected devices like robots isn\u2019t necessarily a bad thing\u2014after all, security vulnerabilities are fairly common in them. Take that time that a hacker demonstrated that he could easily take over a Yarbo automower and drive it over The Verge reporter Sean Hollister\u2019s body<\/a>. It\u2019s not clear how this ban will help with those issues, since any robot that has already been approved for sale here may continue to be imported and sold, and those living in the U.S. are free to keep the ones they already have.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a shame, because as much as robomowers have improved, they do a poor job with grass growing against buildings or over sidewalks. The best they\u2019ve done, until now, is slide their mowing decks over to get close, as is the case with the Segway Navimow X4<\/a>, but they\u2019ll still leave you with the task of going back with a weed whacker to trim the vegetation growing against your house or edge the grass that flops over the concrete of your sidewalk.<\/p>\n In general, the new robot mowers I saw at IFA 2026 are handling this the same way: they each have an articulating arm that can swing out away from the body of the mower to cut grass. In the case of the Segway Navimow H5 Pro, a panel on the side of the device opens up to bring the robot\u2019s mowing blades out, while others, like the Dreame A4 AWD Pro<\/a>, use a string trimming arm. The Mammotion Yuba 4 AWD<\/a> has an optional accessory that bolts onto the back. And the Eufy Lawn Mower S2 Max<\/a>\u2018s string trimmer arm can be horizontal for cutting down grass near structures and vertical for edging a sidewalk.<\/p>\n![\"Segway](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Segway-Navimow-H5-Pro.jpg\")
Segway\u2019s Navimow H5 Pro frees its cutting blade for edge-trimming. \u00a9 Wes Davis \/ Gizmodo <\/p>\n![\"Mammotion](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Mammotion-Yuba-4-AWD.jpg\")
The Mammotion Yuba 4 AWD has an optional trimming arm attachment. \u00a9 Wes Davis \/ Gizmodo <\/p>\n![\"Close-up](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Eufy-Lawn-Mower-S2-Max.jpg\")
The Eufy Lawn Mower S2 Max finishes a vertical edging job. \u00a9 Wes Davis \/ Gizmodo <\/p>\n