Everyone Hates Plowing Snow. The Updated Yarbo Robot Cleans Up While You’re Inside – CNET [CNET]

Yarbo is a modular yard work robot that plows snow and blows leaves so you don’t have to. At CES 2024, we saw an update that could make a big difference.

When I was a wee lad growing up in rural Illinois, I dreaded snowstorms because they meant I’d have to bundle up and shovel the driveway for my mom the next morning. I dreamt of a utopian future in which robots could do this work for me. At CES 2024, that dream became reality.

Yarbo is a modular yard robot with various attachments that can handle different types of yard work, from mowing your lawn to blowing leaves and more. Their newest attachment, the Snow Blower S1 Plus, improves on the older S1 with the ability to process snowdrifts 16 inches high, a timely benefit as the first big winter storm of the season barrels across the U.S. this week.

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Features include obstacle avoidance and yard mapping to ensure the robot is equipped to handle your yard autonomously. The snow blower attachment can throw snow up to 40 feet, and rotates 180 degrees, ensuring the robot doesn’t sabotage its own progress. Once your yard is mapped, create and schedule a cleaning plan in the Yarbo app and the bot will do the rest.

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You can purchase your Yarbo components a la carte, or opt for a bundle if you expect to automate outdoor maintenance year-round. The body is $4,499, and additional components range from $1,499 to $2,459 in price. 

The updated Snow Blower S1 Plus model comes out later this year, but the existing S1 model is available for purchase now.