“Follow Contour” would function something in between spiral and parallel. The idea would be for it to behave like parallel doing zero turn type movements but instead of doing straight lines across an area it would follow the boundary pattern. If the last overlapped it would be ideal for it to just go ahead and overlap (double mow) the end.
This could be especially useful for steeper and/or smaller areas like hillside ditches. Those areas have a tendency to make turnarounds difficult (both times I’ve had track derailment have happened like that). It also covers how you’d need to manually mow the same type of area.
The concept of a “Follow Contour” mode sounds quite useful, especially with the real-world scenarios you shared. If more users express interest in this feature, I’ll be sure to pass it along to our product team for consideration.
Thanks again for providing such detailed context — it really helps us better understand different mowing needs!
Rather tan “Follow contour”, I’d like to see “Improve the contour”.
Yarbo wastes a lot of time trying to follow the perimeter. Mow the first perimeter pass as now. After the first pass, it stops and does a turn to shift inward one full mower width. Do it the way a person would do it. At the end of each pass, gradually move inward without stopping. Use the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th passes (if selected) to straighten boundary edges and round corners. Run the first pass slowly but speed up 2nd pass and again on 3rd and 4th passes.
For example, at the end of the 1st pass, look ahead to see the most distant point that can fit within a one-mower width path. Mow that straight line. Then do a turn aimed at the next farthest point that can be reached within a one-mower width path. When it must turn, cut back the point of the corner by one-mower width. Repeat. Then use the last perimeter pass as the border for the interior area. The pattern for the internal area will be less complex and it will mow faster with fewer turns.