Gardening has some wonderful therapeutic and mental health benefits for many people, but there are still some garden-related jobs that are very troublesome. As a result, the Yardroid robot was designed to solve this problem.
There are already quite a few serial models of robotic lawnmowers and separate robots for removing weeds from the lawn, but each of them performs only one specialized task; therefore, several devices are needed to automate the main work of garden maintenance. Whereas, Yardroid is a robot gardener with artificial intelligence, capable of trimming grass, watering lawns, and warning of the appearance of strangers.
It rolls along on track and resembles a mini-tank. The front section carries the turret with a 1-liter water gun, camera, and LED gun light mounted in a fully stabilized gimbal. The gimbal, together with the traversing turret, allows Yardroid to spray water up to ten meters away in nearly every direction. There are also two more nozzles in the tower – for herbicides and pesticides.
Through a special device at the bottom, the robot can blow off fallen leaves; in the lower part, the robot has a blade with a variable height to cut the grass. Yardroid is capable of on-the-spot turning and climbing over vertical obstacles up to 6 inches high and up to 45-degree slopes.
Yardroid utilizes onboard computer vision and artificial intelligence systems to mow the lawn autonomously according to the planned route. The grass-cutting height can be changed, not via a manual dial on the robot, but automatically via the control app. The robot can set the task itself; depending on the data received from the camera, it can perform work on a schedule. A person can perform any task manually by controlling the robot from a smartphone.
Besides, Yardroid can open and close the lid of its water tank. Using the automatic companion spigot valve, the robot can quickly fill up its water tank. The companion spigot valve is powered by a battery that is continually recharged by a solar cell, so there is no need for an electrical installation.
The developers recently added a new snow-plowing capability to Yardroid, which you can see in the video below. Despite its size, the robot is surprisingly powerful at plowing and keeps clearing small amounts of snow as it falls.
In addition, the smart robot can detect strangers, emit loud signals, or even spray them with water if they refuse to leave. It also records the intruder and saves the footage on a mobile device. Yardroid protects itself against theft in a similar manner, including sending you its current GPS location. For extra safety against theft, Yardroid can be secured via password.
The video by the company shows the different modes of operation of the device and plans on raising money through crowdfunding for its mass production. The first deliveries are expected to begin later this year at $2,500.
