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Announced alongside M Series Smart Assist Module launch on Kickstarter
NEW YORK, April 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Yarbo, a company focused on intelligent yard robotics, today announced the Yarbo Open Platform, a long-term initiative currently under development and planned for release in early 2027. Designed to expand Yarbo's modular yard robot system across both software and hardware, the platform is intended to support deeper customization, broader smart home connectivity, and new forms of user and developer-driven functionality over time. The announcement coincides with the launch of the Smart Assist Module (SAM) for the M Series on Kickstarter.
The Open Platform is not available today. Instead, it reflects Yarbo's roadmap for how its ecosystem may evolve over time, including a three-layer software architecture built around an Open API, SDK, and no-code Automation Editor, as well as a hardware expansion framework designed to support future user-built and developer-built modules.
A Structured Approach to Software Integration and Automation
The Yarbo Open Platform is structured to accommodate different levels of technical expertise, from everyday users to experienced developers. It is designed to provide multiple entry points into the Yarbo ecosystem, enabling both software-driven automation and hardware-level expansion.
On the software side, the platform consists of three layers:
- Yarbo Open API — intended to enable connectivity between Yarbo devices and external platforms, allowing them to participate in broader home automation scenarios.
- Yarbo SDK — a set of development tools, including code libraries and documentation, designed for developers building custom features or integrations.
- Yarbo Automation Editor — a visual, drag-and-drop interface within the Yarbo app that allows users to create automation workflows without writing code.
Together, these components are intended to make automation accessible to a wide range of users, while also supporting more advanced development use cases.
The platform is also designed to support compatibility with widely used smart home ecosystems, including Home Assistant, Google Home, and Amazon Alexa, enabling users to incorporate Yarbo into existing connected home setups.
Extending Capability Through Hardware
In addition to software capabilities, the Open Platform introduces a hardware expansion approach designed to extend Yarbo's functionality beyond its existing modules.
At the center of this is CoreBridge, a standardized hardware interface currently in development that is intended to provide access to Yarbo's mechanical mounting points, power system, and data connections. It is designed to support third-party development and user-built extensions, allowing new types of functionality beyond pre-defined modules.
One example of this extensibility is an electromagnet-based module, which can be attached via CoreBridge to enable Yarbo to latch onto and move objects such as garbage bins. In a potential use scenario, this could enable automated movement of a bin to the curb on collection day and its return afterward.
This combination of software and hardware openness reflects an effort to expand the role of outdoor robotics beyond fixed-function devices.
Smart Assist Module Launch on Kickstarter
Alongside the Open Platform announcement, Yarbo is launching the Smart Assist Module (SAM) for the M Series on Kickstarter.
The module introduces two primary features designed to expand how users interact with their yard robot in everyday use:
- Follow Me Mode — enabling Yarbo to move alongside the user while carrying tools or materials, reducing the need for manual transport during yard work.
- Patrol Mode — allowing Yarbo to move along customizable routes around the property, with features such as remote live view, app-based alerts, and optional audio notifications via its built-in speaker, providing an added layer of awareness and convenience for users managing outdoor spaces.
The Smart Assist Module is positioned as part of Yarbo's broader effort to extend the practical use cases of its modular system.
Looking Ahead
The Yarbo Open Platform is planned for release in early 2027 and is being developed to support both the Y Series and M Series. By introducing a framework that combines software integration, developer tools, and hardware extensibility, Yarbo aims to enable a broader range of applications while allowing users to define how the system evolves over time.
Further details will be shared as development progresses.
About Yarbo
Yarbo is defining a new category of outdoor robotics with its Modular Yard Robot. Known for its automated snow blower robots, Yarbo introduced a modular system designed for year-round use. Powered by a single intelligent core unit, the system supports interchangeable modules for mowing, leaf blowing, snow clearing, and more—creating a more efficient approach to outdoor maintenance for homeowners.
Announced alongside M Series Smart Assist Module launch on Kickstarter
NEW YORK, April 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Yarbo, a company focused on intelligent yard robotics, today announced the Yarbo Open Platform, a long-term initiative currently under development and planned for release in early 2027. Designed to expand Yarbo's modular yard robot system across both software and hardware, the platform is intended to support deeper customization, broader smart home connectivity, and new forms of user and developer-driven functionality over time. The announcement coincides with the launch of the Smart Assist Module (SAM) for the M Series on Kickstarter.
The Open Platform is not available today. Instead, it reflects Yarbo's roadmap for how its ecosystem may evolve over time, including a three-layer software architecture built around an Open API, SDK, and no-code Automation Editor, as well as a hardware expansion framework designed to support future user-built and developer-built modules.
A Structured Approach to Software Integration and Automation
The Yarbo Open Platform is structured to accommodate different levels of technical expertise, from everyday users to experienced developers. It is designed to provide multiple entry points into the Yarbo ecosystem, enabling both software-driven automation and hardware-level expansion.
On the software side, the platform consists of three layers:
- Yarbo Open API — intended to enable connectivity between Yarbo devices and external platforms, allowing them to participate in broader home automation scenarios.
- Yarbo SDK — a set of development tools, including code libraries and documentation, designed for developers building custom features or integrations.
- Yarbo Automation Editor — a visual, drag-and-drop interface within the Yarbo app that allows users to create automation workflows without writing code.
Together, these components are intended to make automation accessible to a wide range of users, while also supporting more advanced development use cases.
The platform is also designed to support compatibility with widely used smart home ecosystems, including Home Assistant, Google Home, and Amazon Alexa, enabling users to incorporate Yarbo into existing connected home setups.
Extending Capability Through Hardware
In addition to software capabilities, the Open Platform introduces a hardware expansion approach designed to extend Yarbo's functionality beyond its existing modules.
At the center of this is CoreBridge, a standardized hardware interface currently in development that is intended to provide access to Yarbo's mechanical mounting points, power system, and data connections. It is designed to support third-party development and user-built extensions, allowing new types of functionality beyond pre-defined modules.
One example of this extensibility is an electromagnet-based module, which can be attached via CoreBridge to enable Yarbo to latch onto and move objects such as garbage bins. In a potential use scenario, this could enable automated movement of a bin to the curb on collection day and its return afterward.
This combination of software and hardware openness reflects an effort to expand the role of outdoor robotics beyond fixed-function devices.
Smart Assist Module Launch on Kickstarter
Alongside the Open Platform announcement, Yarbo is launching the Smart Assist Module (SAM) for the M Series on Kickstarter.
The module introduces two primary features designed to expand how users interact with their yard robot in everyday use:
- Follow Me Mode — enabling Yarbo to move alongside the user while carrying tools or materials, reducing the need for manual transport during yard work.
- Patrol Mode — allowing Yarbo to move along customizable routes around the property, with features such as remote live view, app-based alerts, and optional audio notifications via its built-in speaker, providing an added layer of awareness and convenience for users managing outdoor spaces.
The Smart Assist Module is positioned as part of Yarbo's broader effort to extend the practical use cases of its modular system.
Looking Ahead
The Yarbo Open Platform is planned for release in early 2027 and is being developed to support both the Y Series and M Series. By introducing a framework that combines software integration, developer tools, and hardware extensibility, Yarbo aims to enable a broader range of applications while allowing users to define how the system evolves over time.
Further details will be shared as development progresses.
About Yarbo
Yarbo is defining a new category of outdoor robotics with its Modular Yard Robot. Known for its automated snow blower robots, Yarbo introduced a modular system designed for year-round use. Powered by a single intelligent core unit, the system supports interchangeable modules for mowing, leaf blowing, snow clearing, and more—creating a more efficient approach to outdoor maintenance for homeowners.
** This press release is distributed by PR Newswire through automated distribution system, for which the client assumes full responsibility. **
Yarbo Introduces Open Platform Strategy, Opening Its Robotics System to Developers and Smart Home Ecosystems
Yarbo Introduces Open Platform Strategy, Opening Its Robotics System to Developers and Smart Home Ecosystems
79th Festival de Cannes • Spotlight on Chinese Cinema • China Pavilion
CANNES, France, May 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- On May 14 (local time), the Chinese film My World Without Me, directed by Tian Hairong, was screened at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes. Selected for the International Promotional Screening Unit of the 79th Festival de Cannes, the film garnered warm applause and high praise from audiences around the world, as well as invaluable feedback and insights.
Following the screening, the film's creative team joined a themed panel at the China Pavilion titled "The Power of Images and Care for the Soul," engaging in a heartfelt dialogue with filmmakers and audiences from across the globe on the themes of life and adversity — resonating deeply with the tender hearts of people from all cultural backgrounds. The panel was hosted by China Film Foundation & China Film Association and organized by China Film Foundation • Wutianming Film Fund.
About the Film and Its Creative Team
My World Without Me is directed and headlined by Tian Hairong, with Zhang Hanyu serving as executive producer for the first time. The film was crafted over nearly seven years with exceptional care and dedication. It focuses on the contemporary community of people with hidden depression, conveying love and hope through the quiet spaces of daily life and the gentle light found in ordinary moments. Confronting suffering head-on, the film exemplifies the restrained aesthetics and humanistic warmth characteristic of Chinese realist cinema, offering an Eastern perspective on mental health narratives.
Tian Hairong is a graduate of the Performance Department of the Shanghai Theatre Academy and a renowned actress and producer in mainland China. She received the Golden Deer Award for Best Actress at the Changchun International Film Festival for Romantic Girl, the Best Actress award at the Nordic International Film Festival for The Spirit of a Generation: Tang Qunying, and the Best Supporting Actress award at the 12th Macao International Film Festival. Tian expressed her hope that through international platforms such as Cannes, the world will come to feel the warmth and depth of Chinese cinema.
International Recognition
French director Frédéric Oberlin praised the film for using a uniquely Eastern mastery of emotion to deliver silent feelings directly to the heart. Sinologist Luisa Prudentino noted after viewing the film that its sincere emotional core transcends cultural barriers, protecting the dignity of life and becoming a warm thread of empathy connecting different civilizations.
The film is set to continue participating in further international film festivals, using the power of cinema to build bridges of cultural communication and to help Chinese stories reach the world in a manner rich with humanistic care.
** This press release is distributed by PR Newswire through automated distribution system, for which the client assumes full responsibility. **
Touching Hearts Through Cinema -- Chinese Film "My World Without Me" Earns High Praise at Cannes
