Ülemiste City and Grandhaus have launched a pilot project to test a new autonomous garden robot, aiming to make outdoor maintenance more efficient, flexible, and sustainable. The pilot features YARBO, a modular, year-round garden robot that combines a snow blower, robotic lawn mower, and leaf blower in a single device. 

The pilot is carried out within the Ülemiste City Test City programme in cooperation with maintenance partner Grandhaus. The Test City programme treats pilot projects as future models for urban services, evaluated in real-life use and a living urban environment. 

According to Pärnits, testing autonomous maintenance solutions is part of Ülemiste City’s deliberate, long-term strategy to move toward preventive, data-driven urban management, where the campus functions as a collaborative platform for technology companies, service providers, and urban space owners. 

“For us, it’s not just about whether the technology works, but whether it is safe, easy for users to understand, and economically viable. This mindset gives technology developers better conditions to scale market-ready solutions in other similar environments,” said Sten Pärnits, Chairman of the Management Board of Mainor Ülemiste AS. “Ülemiste City is part of an international network of urban test environments, helping the most successful piloted services or products reach larger markets across Europe.” 

Autonomous operation with minimal human intervention 

YARBO operates largely independently and requires human intervention only in exceptional cases. For example, if ice or very dense snow accumulates on the machine. Work areas are set up and monitored conveniently via a mobile app, and the robot’s sensors and cameras are heated and self-cleaning during operation. 

“The robot is primarily designed for sidewalks, light-traffic paths, courtyards, and narrower areas that larger machinery cannot access or where its use would not be practical,” explains Kristo Kängsepp, Head of the Property Maintenance Business Unit at Grandhaus. He adds: “In winter conditions, YARBO can clear approximately 550 m² of 2–3 cm snow on a single full charge. When snow depth reaches 10 cm, the cleared area is around 185 m². The robot’s working width is about 60 cm, and snow can be thrown up to 12 meters.” 

In summer, Grandhaus plans to use the robot for lawn mowing, where its potential capacity reaches 14,000–25,000 m². During the pilot phase, the robot will initially be used on an area of approximately 10,000 m², taking into account limitations on working radius and the distance to the data center, which is about 200–250 meters away. 

Safety and next steps in the pilot 

Daily operation of YARBO does not require a permanent operator, the robot only needs supervision and occasional intervention. This helps reduce routine manual labor and allows employees to focus on other tasks. The device is equipped with obstacle detection systems and operates only within predefined areas. 

According to Kängsepp, the pilot continuously monitors both the robot’s reliability and safety in various weather and environmental conditions. “In the next phase of the project, we will assess opportunities to expand the operating areas and further reduce the need for manual intervention,” he added. 

Based on the results of the pilot project, decisions will be made regarding the broader adoption of similar autonomous solutions across the Ülemiste City campus.