Robotic lawn care, like any technology, is ever-changing. It started with robot lawn mowers, which cut your grass coimpletely autonomously. Then you get a company like Yarbo, and we explained the innovative approach that Yarbo property maintenance takes in an earlier blog. Well, now, here comes Toro, upping the game once more with an entire automated lawn care system.
Toro’s system runs irrigation, lighting, and a robotic mower, all from the same system. They call their automated lawn care system the Haven Smartyard Ecosystem.
Needless to say, this innovative new automated lawn care system had us more excited than when we see it’s Prime Rib Night at the Golden Corral. So when we saw Toro at Equip Expo 2023, we had to take the opportunity to learn all about it. We interviewed Alex Frick, the Senior Engineering Manager at Toro. He filled us in on this really cool new system. You can check out the video, or read our summary of the conversation below.
What Is the Haven Smartyard Ecosystem?
Toro calls its automated lawn care system the Haven Smartyard Ecosystem. This system features a robotic mower, the Haven RM 1. However, the system also features irrigation heads and lights that are all connected to the same platform. You can control them all through the same app.
In other words, Toro has put everything you need to make your outdoor space immaculate on one system.
Of course, you might be worried that 3 different smart lawn care devices means a lot of cell connecting and extra connection fees. However, all the devices connect to one hub via 900 mhz radio communication. This, by the way, is the same trusted radio system that Toro has been using to irrigate golf course for the past umpteen years. (Yes, umpteen is our precise measurement.)
Very few other companies besides Toro even provide lighting, irrigation, and mowing solutions. Putting them all together into one automated lawn care system? Unprecedented.
You can learn more about the Haven Smartyard Ecosystem here.
How Does the Toro Robotic Mower Compare to the Competition?
Of course, our area of greatest expertise is with robotic mowers. So we had to nerd out and see how the Toro robotic mower stacks up to others.
As it turns out, the Toro robotic mower has cool innovations, just like the automated lawn care system.
The main element that sets the Toro robotic mower apart is that it uses a camera to check its location. In fact, it uses 4 cameras for localization. The beauty of using cameras is that you don’t need a cell connection and you do not need a clear view of satellites.
Another neat innovation is the way in which you first install the Toro robotic mower on a property. You put an attachment on the Toro robotic mower with your cell phone attached and the app running. When you are done with the install, remove the attachment…and it becomes the sunshade on top of the charging unit. What an efficient use of resources! Neat little features like this have us very excited for the Toro automated lawn care system.
Where Can I Get the Toro Automated Lawn Care System?
Unfortunately, this Toro automated lawn care system isn’t available quite yet. But Alex assures us that Toro is working diligently on making the Haven Smartyard Ecosystem available for consumers. The system should be available very soon.
Which brings us to a very important question. Contrary to popular belief, we are not a dictatorship. We love hearing the opinions of our adoring public. (Or, well, our public anyway.)
What do you think? Should we carry this Toro automated lawn care system when it comes out? Let us know in the comments below. Or of course, you can contact us at any time.
But please know: even if the public asks us for fewer dad jokes, it ain’t happening. In that regard, we still are kings.
