From NexLawn to smart gardens: is the future of outdoor robotics already here?

NexLawn at IFA 2025: when a robot lawn mower becomes much more

The NexLawn Master X Series concept as a glimpse of tomorrow

At the recent IFA 2025 in Berlin, a prototype caught the attention of enthusiasts and professionals alike: the NexLawn Master X Series. It’s not a common robot lawn mower, but an experimental platform equipped with an extendable robotic arm capable of tasks far beyond lawn maintenance.

This concept opens a window onto a future where gardens are not just green areas to maintain, but smart spaces where technology communicates with both the environment and people. We’re talking about robots that don’t just perform repetitive tasks, but become dynamic collaborators able to adapt, interact, and make outdoor life smoother.

A video that showcases new ways to interact

To better grasp the scope of this innovation, just watch the demo video showing NexLawn picking fruit, retrieving objects, or even playing with a dog. It’s not just entertainment: it’s a concrete preview of the next phase in garden robotics, where function and relationship intertwine.

When technology meets creativity

A robot that picks fruit and plays with the dog

The NexLawn Master X Series shown at IFA 2025 doesn’t just cut grass: its extendable robotic arm lets it pick fruit, move small obstacles, and even play fetch with a dog. In demonstrations, its joints showed how it can become a versatile assistant, performing contextual actions well beyond routine maintenance.

This evolution was described by New Atlas, which highlights how the arm can reach up to one meter and accommodate interchangeable tools: from an edging trimmer to a gripper for picking up branches or scattered objects. It’s a concrete example of how robotics can take on more complex, integrative roles in the garden.

The decisive step: from specialized machine to collaborative system

The concept of a multifunction robot isn’t entirely new: some manufacturers have already shown how the same technological base can be adapted in different ways. Take Belrobotics, known for professional autonomous mowers used on sports fields and large green areas. From the same platform they developed the Ballpicker, a robot similar in appearance to their mowing models, but with a completely different job: collecting golf balls on driving ranges.

The core idea is clear: a technology designed to autonomously cover large areas is adapted to a specific task, relieving operators of repetitive, low-value work. In this way the robot doesn’t simply replace humans, it collaborates with them, taking over monotonous operations and allowing staff to focus on higher-value tasks, in the spirit of a collective, collaborative intelligence between robots and people.

This example shows how robotics is already going beyond simple automation. The future won’t consist of isolated devices performing a single task, but of intelligent systems that adapt, interact, and enhance the quality of outdoor life.

A path toward ever-smarter gardens

The image of a robot picking fruit or playing with a dog is compelling because it reveals a new form of collaboration between technology and everyday life. But behind this appealing scenario lies a fundamental question: how do we integrate and support increasingly complex systems that become an integral part of our time and spaces?

The more machines evolve, the greater the need for solutions that ensure their continuity: not only tools that perform tasks, but infrastructure that supports and protects them. A smart garden isn’t made of a single device working in isolation, but of a set of elements that expand its capabilities and preserve its value over time. Garages that protect from the elements, covers that shield sensors and electronics, charging systems that talk to solar power, or lighting modules that extend garden life beyond daylight hours.

In this vision, what we call “accessories” today stop being a marginal detail and become part of a smart ecosystem. These elements, discreet yet essential, turn the machine into a true ally, placing it within a network of protection, energy, and connection that paves the way for gardens that are more resilient, sustainable, and deeply integrated with daily life.

The importance of the ecosystem in smart gardens

A smart garden doesn’t arise from a mere sum of autonomous machines, but from the ability to build connections. Every element — from the robot to the charging system, from covers to energy sources — becomes part of a larger whole, where the balance between protection, efficiency, and aesthetics determines the true value of the experience.

In this sense, the ecosystem isn’t a “nice-to-have” but the necessary condition for innovation to truly work. It’s what turns robots from simple tools into partners that fit naturally into daily life, opening the door to more resilient, sustainable gardens.

The vision of Idea Mower: always looking ahead

Rethinking the garden as infrastructure

Innovation doesn’t come from adding features, but from changing perspective. For Idea Mower, the garden of the future isn’t just a green space to maintain, but a living infrastructure that produces, protects, and connects. Robots are the starting point: around them we need a fabric of solutions that turns the lawn into an energetic, aesthetic, and social environment, in constant dialogue with the home and its inhabitants.

In this vision, accessories stop being peripheral details and become enablers of new functions: autonomous energy, integrated security, and comfort that goes beyond maintenance. The garden is no longer just “managed,” it’s lived.

Accessories that shape the ecosystem

This vision isn’t theoretical: it already takes shape in the accessories available today. Garages protect robots and integrate them harmoniously into the garden; platforms keep the area around the charging station neat and clean; service boxes simplify daily management by keeping everything at hand; while spiked wheels and replacement blades ensure continuous operation.

Each element isn’t just a complement, but an active part of the same philosophy: turning the garden into an efficient, sustainable ecosystem that’s ever more enjoyable to live in.

Toward the future

If today accessories provide protection, order, and continuity, the next step will be to integrate new dimensions: energy, light, connection. Imagine garages and platforms that communicate with solar panels, lighting systems that extend garden use past sunset, and solutions that make everyday management even smoother.

The next edition of IFA 2026 will be an opportunity to share this vision: not just accessories, but parts of an ecosystem in which the garden becomes more autonomous, safe, and welcoming. We’re not talking about distant promises, but a clear direction that brings together innovation and real life, always keeping the people who live the garden every day at the center.