A robot lawnmower comprises a body, a drive system carried by the body and configured to maneuver the robot a cross a lawn, a controller carried by the body and in communication with the drive system, and at least one obstacle sensor carried by the body and configured to detect a potential obstacle proximate the robot. The controller is configured to operate in a check setup mode in which a user maneuvers the robot to circumnavigate and approach boundaries, obstacles and/or marked guarded areas while the robot is in a manual mode and permit operation of the robot in an autonomous mode only after the check setup mode is completed.