Yarbo robotic snow blower assessment: A yard crawler for all seasons

Greatest Costs At this time: Yarbo core med snöslunga

Yarbo’s modular yard robotic was successful on the CES present in Las Vegas in January 2025, however I have to say I used to be skeptical of the idea. As soon as I had the chance to check the brand new machine with its snow blower attachment, one of many many equipment you possibly can connect to this track-propelled robotic, I modified my tune.

The Yarbo equipment arrived in three giant packing containers and putting in the machine is a venture. It’s completely not troublesome due to the clear instruction guide. You get all of the instruments you want and every them, together with the Allen wrenches, are labeled. Nice!

Mikael Lindkvist

Specs

• Producer: Yarbo
• Tools: Yarbo Core, snow blower module, battery, docking station, equipment)
• Weight: 134 kilos (61kg) (Yarbo Core, much less snow blower)
• Battery: 36V, 38.4 mAh
• Working temperature vary: -11.2 levels Fahrenheit to 113 F (-24 to 45 C)
• Weatherization: IPX4 (i.e., not examined for mud ingress, shielded from water sprayed from any path)
• Towing capability:

Management it with a smartphone or Yarbo’s handheld distant

After a few hours, the RTK antenna is in place on the facade of the home, the bottom station is nailed down and the machine is able to begin testing. On my first journey to Västerbotten, a province in northeastern Sweden, I didn’t have time to do way more than assemble the equipment and manually drive the snow blower round. You possibly can select to regulate it together with your cell phone or with an included handheld distant that appears prefer it belongs to a recreation console. The concept is, after all, that you simply schedule the snow elimination to avoid wasting time, along with saving your again.

Mikael Lindkvist

Controlling it by way of your cell phone is very easy, as Yarbo’s app is exemplary. However there’s a lot to maintain monitor of apart from navigating the machine. You possibly can set the facility stage of the snow blower motor itself in a number of steps in addition to how deep it ought to dig and the angle at which it ought to eject the eliminated snow. That’s not so good in the event you’re throwing ice and possibly some gravel at your automotive or the entrance of your own home. The snow blower is highly effective, proper up there with the higher battery-powered snow blowers I’ve tried, so it has no downside tossing snow (and ice chunks) 7- to eight meters (7.6- to eight.7 yards).

Mikael Lindkvist

I had extra time to actually check what the Yarbo was able to on my second journey. Now, the perfect factor would after all have been to arrange the machine initially of the winter, not when half a meter (1.6 ft) of snow had thawed after which froze once more. When it comes to the snow on the bottom, circumstances had been merely not optimum.

Studded tracks are a should in winter

The very first thing I did, which I didn’t handle to do within the first a part of the check, was to change to studded tracks. With out them, the Yarbo Core simply slides over icy surfaces. It is a pretty easy venture, nonetheless, and the robotic acquired round a lot better with them on. It was unimaginable to see the way it maneuvered icy excessive edges.

Mikael Lindkvist

The Yarbo Core prices both whereas standing on its charging pad, or by way of an included AC charger. The included 36V battery prices totally in about 3 hours, however when its chilly exterior, it must heat up for 20- to half-hour earlier than you can begin charging its battery. A full cost lasts as much as 4 hours in keeping with the specs. The robotic cleared giant areas in that period of time, so the working time with the snow blower shouldn’t be an issue except you’ve gotten big areas to deal with.

On paper, Yarbo ought to have the ability to deal with as much as 125,000 sq. meters (149,499 sq. yards); however after all, it is dependent upon the job. The world I labored was solely 700- to 800 sq. meters (837- to 957 sq. yards) within the kind of a big driveway and a stretch of street. Through the two check intervals, the robotic had no issues with navigation, needing somewhat assist to get onto its charging pad solely as soon as .

Mikael Lindkvist

It’s very simple to plan your automated snow elimination utilizing the Yarbo app. In the event you’ve ever arrange a boundary wire-free robotic garden mower, you’ll be accustomed to the idea. You drive the machine across the edges of the world you’re mapping, throughout which you’ll be able to mark no-go zones. It’s additionally vital that you simply point out point out which path the snow needs to be pushed. That is best to do after you’ve created your preliminary map. You possibly can then schedule whenever you need the snow blower to run. You can too customise it to clear snow solely after snow occasions.

Mikael Lindkvist

There are additionally another good options, together with Good Imaginative and prescient, which helps you to look out by means of the robotic’s onboard cameras whereas the robotic is working. One other vital function is that the machine will acknowledge obstacles, together with individuals. As quickly as I walked close to the snow blower, it will say “human detected” and pause till I used to be at a secure distance–round 4- to five meters (13- to 16 ft)–from the robotic.

This robotic can pull a trailer, too

It’s after all troublesome to evaluate the reliability of a machine like this in just a few days of testing, however my first impression is that it is a actually high-quality machine with secure software program. You most likely wouldn’t purchase a Yarbo Core only for its winter utility (Yarbo affords a scraper bar ($59) and a snow plow blade ($159) as elective add-ons). After you have the Core, you possibly can select between two sizes of garden mower modules and a string-trimmer module for chopping grass within the spring and summer season, and there’s a leaf blower module for clearing leaves within the fall.

DataNova

I think about this robotic will do a terrific job of mowing lawns, at the very least it received’t have any issues getting round. You can too tow as much as 500 kilos with its trailer hitch put in, and choosing Yarbo’s $149 Again Brace Mount boosts that capability to three,500 kilos (with a 200-pound tongue weight). Lastly, in the event you dwell on a big parcel of land, you possibly can program it to patrol as a robotic safety guard.

The Yarbo Core and its snow blower attachment are loopy costly, however that is undoubtedly one of many coolest merchandise I’ve tried.

This text initially appeared on our sister publication M3 and was translated and localized from Swedish.

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