I can remember when the weed eater was invented. I can also remember the first home leaf blowers. How about you? These were revolutionary in their impact and almost immediate in their spread.
I note these introductions not to show how ancient I have become, but rather to compare how the appearance of newfangled products change outdoor horticulture. If you doubt this, note the arrival of another revolution brought on by the spread of the smart home.
For those who are out of the loop, Apple, Amazon, Google and others developed the Internet of Things into the ability for us to use our phones to operate various things from afar. It started with thermostats and lights, moved on to security cameras and door locks, spread to baby monitors and, lately, refrigerators, stoves and ovens. All of this is lumped into a category known as the smart home.
And this year, welcome to the smart yard. The biggest attempt is going to be to get all of us to switch from our tractors and push mowers to, you got it, smart lawn mowers. The automatic indoor vacuum comes to the lawn in the form of GPS-guided mowers that you turn on and walk away from while they continuously groom your yard. Check out the Robomow if you have 700 bucks to spare. These mowers are going to come down in price, for sure, as they are bound to become standard.
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