How we score robots
Every Verdict Score on this site is computed from structured specifications by published code. This page explains exactly how, including where human judgement enters and where it does not.
The Verdict Score is arithmetic, not opinion
Each robot receives eight subscores from 0 to 100. Each subscore is produced by a fixed point table applied to the machine's published specifications — cutting width, rated slope, positioning system, ingress rating and so on. The Verdict Score is those eight subscores multiplied by the weights below.
The same code runs for every product. Nothing is nudged by hand, and no manufacturer can pay for a placement or a point.
Subscores are stable; weights are not
A ranking page such as Best for Slopes does not recompute a product's scores. It applies a different weight vector to the same eight subscores, so a machine's terrain capability is one number everywhere on the site and only its importance changes with the question being asked.
That is why a product can rank first for slopes and mid-table overall without any contradiction.
Where human judgement enters
One input is editorial: each manufacturer carries a reliability index from 0 to 100, reflecting service network, parts availability and track record. It contributes 55 of the 100 points in the Reliability subscore, which itself carries 10% of the Verdict Score — so at most 5.5 points of any final number.
Every value and every change to it is documented alongside the brand. A maker with no track record is given 60, the neutral default, rather than a guess in either direction.
Value is relative, on purpose
The Value subscore is capability per $1,000, positioned against the rest of the catalogue between the 10th and 90th percentile. Adding a cheaper capable machine lowers everyone else's value score. That is the honest behaviour: value only means anything next to the alternatives a reader could actually buy.
What we do not do
We do not claim to have tested a machine we have not tested. Every review states its method, and specification analysis is labelled as specification analysis.
We do not publish invented owner ratings, aggregate star scores we did not collect, or measurements we did not take. Where a specification is still unverified against the manufacturer's documentation, the product page says so.