Mowing lawns is not the only thing that AI-powered garden robot Verdie can do

Things are shaking up in robotic mower market. Not only are they getting smarter - like the upcoming Airseekers Tron without a boundary wire and RTK - but also cheaper, such as the wireless i series from Segway Navimow that was recently unveiled.

Another robotic lawnmower is currently being developed in San Francisco, one that may well steal the show from the two aforementioned examples. Electric Sheep Robotics recently presented the Verdie, which is not just an "electric sheep", but a comprehensive tool for automated gardening. According to the manufacturer, Verdie can not only mow lawns independently, but is also able to use power tools such as hedge trimmers, leaf blowers and saws. Exactly what this will look like in practice remains to be seen.

But the manufacturer has already released a preview video of Verdie (embedded below), which provides first impressions of the innovative robotic mower. It balances on two wheels and is more reminiscent of a human-like robot than the familiar form of robotic lawn mowers crouching on the ground. The self-balancing platform with steered wheels can adjust tilt, rotation and height in order to carry out the task at hand.

Verdie's control system is based on artificial intelligence: the robot's "brain" is a generative AI training model called "ES1", which uses photorealistic simulated parks and lawns. It runs on the Jetson platform from Nvidia, the well-known manufacturer of graphics chips. According to the manufacturer, Verdie can "map out entire strategies on a single desktop graphics processor" and learn continuously. Collaboration with human workers is also reportedly possible.

At present, it is unknown when Verdie from Electric Sheep Robotics will come onto the market. The new AI garden helper is primarily designed for the maintenance of large lawns and less for home gardens. Nonetheless, it certainly offers an exciting glimpse into the future of robot-assisted gardening.