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This Snow-Plowing Robot Automates Yard Work While You Relax

The Yarbo is a modular yard work robot with attachments for lawn mowing, leaf mulching and more. At CES 2024, we saw its latest snow blower attachment in action.

Nick Wolny Managing Editor
A classically trained French hornist by education, Nick Wolny is a managing editor and journalist at CNET, where he oversees coverage related to consumer spending, consumer tech and personal finance. He is also the finance columnist for Out magazine and a frequent television correspondent. Prior to journalism, Nick owned a content marketing agency, a business he converted into a fractional consultancy upon pivoting his career, and has previously written thought leadership columns for Fast Company, Insider, Entrepreneur Magazine and Fortune. A rural Illinois boy at heart, he's now based in Los Angeles.
Expertise Consumer spending, consumer tech, personal finance, financial independence (FI) movement, LGBTQ+ equity Credentials
  • He was named a "40 under 40" by the Houston Business Journal in 2021.
Nick Wolny
2 min read
snow plow robot blowing snow in a yard

On the CES 2024 show floor, I saw the newest version of Yarbo's snow-plow robot.

Courtesy of Yarbo

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.

The 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 nation's first winter storm of the season pummeled millions with blizzard conditions and wind chill advisories this past weekend.

Read more: Inside-Out Phones, Folding TVs: Behold The Eye-Popping Tech of CES 2024

yarbo snow plow robot
Nick Wolny/CNET

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.

Watch this: Best of Show: The Coolest Gadgets of CES 2024

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.

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