While using a snow blower may be easier than shoveling snow, if you have large areas that need to be cleared, even pushing a snow blower can be tiring. That's where the Snowbot S1 comes in — it's a snowblowing robot designed to do the job on its own. The Snowbot S1 is a battery-powered rubber tracked autonomous vehicle that is about to enter beta testing.
The Snowbot S1 is mainly used in large spaces such as parking lots, and users begin to set up three ultra-wideband wireless telecommunications poles, one in each of the three corners of the relevant square or rectangular area. A fourth pole on the robot receives the signals from these beacons and uses these signals to triangulate their current position within the area. This allows it to establish a clear snow route and follow it dutifully.
If the shape of the area is irregular, the user can manually set the route with the iOS/Android app. The S1 can also be manually controlled in real time using the included radio remote control. Depending on whether the robot moves on a paved or gravel surface, the snow is initially cleared by a spatula or rotary brush. A hard rubber spiral then draws snow out of the slide at a 360-degree adjustable angle. S1 is reportedly capable of throwing snow up to 12 feet (3.7 m) away and can clear snow up to 12 inches (305 mm) deep. Depending on the depth of the snow, it can automatically adjust the speed from 0 to 1.3 feet (0.4 meters) per second.
Allegedly, using LiDAR sensors, the robot is able to detect obstacles, and if there are any obstacles blocking its way, it will automatically stop and sound an alarm. If its drill bit is clogged with wet snow, branches, or other debris, it will also stop. It is said that its 36V/31.2Ah lithium-ion battery is charged for 2 hours and can be used for about 1.5 hours. The entire device weighs about 143 pounds (65 kilograms) and is waterproof to IP35, which means it prevents low-pressure water columns from any direction.