I had a delivery driver drop off a package today while the Yarbo was running a work plan on a nearby part of the driveway. “Wow, that’s cool, but I wasn’t expecting that and nearly hit the thing.”
I think the Yarbo is hard to miss, but I don’t drive a van with an elevated seating position and the music cranked.
Other than placing a translucent plastic dome over the flashing light to make it my obvious, have any of you considered mods to help reduce the chance of a collision from not being seen? A flag, maybe?
This is where API access with Home Assistant integration could shine. "If there is a vehicle spotted on camera 1 or 2, pause the Yarbo. If on camera 3, send the Yarbo along the perimeter back to the dock. If there is a municipal snow plow headed this way, get the Yarbo away from the road.” Stuff, stuff.
I think a flag on a flexible pole would be the easiest. Perhaps a strobe on it that could be motion activated or triggered by your HA during your schedule window or some other trigger external to Yarbo.
I’ve watched delivery drivers come into my driveway while Yarbo is working. They tend to pause with curiosity and steer clear of it. I had a DoorDash guy just sit in the driveway for a few minutes watching it before finally leaving. I thought that was kinda funny.
I’d appreciate it if the Yarbo had more problem solving ability. Someone drove up when it was in the middle of the driveway, midway down the hill, so the Yarbo just stopped and blocked the way. I wish it would go around an obstacle or pull itself to the side of the work area. My mower is able to navigate around things.
If there were integration with my home AI system, I could send Yarbo to the base when someone enters the driveway since the system monitors the drive already.
This is exactly my train of thought. I suspect it may be easier and more flexible to allow command/response through an API than waiting for Yarbo to implement a one-size-fits-all solution within their current software (which I wouldn’t refuse, either). It would also allow Yarbo to act on sensor data and logic beyond what is already on-board.
“It’s going to rain today. Cancel next scheduled mow.”
“Both cars are away, so you can snowblow the parking area.”
“It’s a weekend/holiday so turn off today’s no-charging periods.”
“City snow plow approaching. Get away from the road.”
‘It’s going to be abusively hot from 10am to 5pm today. Suspend schedules.”
“Security camera spotted someone out back. If the Yarbo has the SAM in place, turn on all the lights, drive over to that location, and set Spotify to stream ‘So Watcha Want’ by the Beastie Boys to the bluetooth speaker.”
“A raccoon is trying to get into the trash. Launch missiles.”
I would actually like a SuperSoaker patrol mode. Have a water tank on the back of Yarbo with an electric pump SuperSoaker that can target the neighbor’s cat that craps everywhere.
