Just left the Yarbo booth. Had a nice long talk with Ken. Will share some good pics later when I have WiFi.
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Thank you! Iâm sure most of us would love to hear everything you care to share.
Canât wait!
Agreed.
Different gear reduction in the drivetrain. Which also means it might not sound like a horde of banshees wailing across the yard.
Track motors are whisper quiet they said and twice as fast. The mower motors for the straight blade are dual 300w each. The disc model is dual 150w each. It can only tow half the weight because the core itself is only 60lbs. Like 80 with the mower module I think it said.
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Ok. Sorry for the long delay, but itâs been a chaotic day.
First of all, I think itâs important to set things straight in terms of the ânew Yarboâ versus the âoriginal Yarboâ.
They have no intentions on abandoning or diverting attention away from the Yarbo we all currently own. They see the two products as different markets, and they form a more cohesive brand, which I completely agree with.
The new M series is made for smaller yards. Itâs also sort of designed to be easier and simpler to install, relying primarily on Lidar and vision versus RTK. They plan to offer internet based RTK optionally, but it will be a paid subscription.
The programming and code are shared between both platforms, so development will benefit both.
The M series equipment shown at CES is almost all mockup. Not finished or even working products. They had I think one core that was powered, but the rest were not.
Ken had a good analogy - Our current Yarbo is like the Tesla Model S. The new smaller one is the Model Y. They deliberately want both products, with one being the lower cost mass market, and the other being the larger premium product.
It sounds like the M series will be shipping roughly in the 3rd quarter 2026.
Personally, I think having both large and small robots is a good strategy. The M series will bring in more revenue for the company and help ensure their long term success.
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Thank you for the summary and the photos! I agree, two different markets and am hopeful they bring all capabilities and new modules to the 24/25 core as well.
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It sounds to me like the software featureset should be pretty much the same for both 24/25 Yarbo and M Series, aside from changes due to hardware differences.
I donât get the impression that the 2024/2025 will necessarily get identical modules, but it seems like theyâll base those decisions on perceived demand versus the cost of development.
I can share that the new internet based RTK will be carried over to the 24/25 model. But again, the intention is to use a paid iNet RTK provider versus the free public ones due to the perceived lack of reliability in the freely available services.
Makes sense that the software would be cross utilized. Keeps lifting the 23 and 24/25 cores up too. I heard on the live stream Ken say there is an optional DC for the M series. Did they show it or talk about it? Is it all cellular without?
I saw it, but they took it away before I could get a pic of it. New form factor. Somewhat smaller. Looks simplified to me. But then again, it could have just been a mockup. It disappeared before I could go pick it up and look closely.
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Really appreciate your info and photos! Was there any talk of development team expansion or the state of the firmware issues with the standard Yarbo and how theyâll maybe also affect the M Series? If theyâre sharing a codebase, youâd think at least some of the undesired movement decisions would then be in the M Series as well.
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Thanks for the insight, rgloverii⌠You are appreciated. 
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Thanks for the info Robert. Great summary and pics. I understand the smaller model and we might benefit from it.
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One of the employees I talked with basically said They were well aware of the current firmware issues and that the next release is currently being tested. He thought maybe it was 3-4 weeks away, assuming no showstoppers were found. Of course I take this with a grain of salt, but I appreciate the estimated timeline.
The new release is supposed to fix the current issue with Yarbo driving through seemingly random areas when seeking a path back to the dock (among other things).
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Another timely yarbo update, at the end of winter.
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Quite a few of the issues have persisted for over a year. With each release Yarbo says they will be addressed but they havenât been.
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I like the plow idea but from what Iâve seen by using mine it would be nice if the blade would turn. But on the M thatâs a big blade and Iâm not sure how a lighter unit will push a big blade like that relative to light weight of the M core. Did they have any predictions as to its functionality? Iâve been messing with some designs to tilt the current unit as well as adding weight to the back on the hitch for better pushing.
I think since the blade pivots, the smaller robot will be able to push snow effectively. Maybe even better than our Yarbo since it will be pushing the snow off to the side.
One thing I didnât think to ask was the new seriesâ weight. I doubt the weight has been finalized though, since everything is still in prototype form.
I also noticed that their winter tracks didnât have studs. But I was told the track design wasnât finalized yet, so maybe studs will end up being available for it.
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