I Tried to Automate My Entire Property (This Got Out of Control)

Why It Matters

Demonstrating viable automation for sprawling, uneven land could lower labor costs and accelerate adoption of robotics in agriculture and property management.

Key Takeaways

• Smart home automation expanded to manage vineyard and orchard
• Manual labor proved unsustainable; automation aims to reduce workload
• Robotic mower performed well on flat areas, struggled on rough terrain
• Community workdays helped clear land but highlighted ongoing maintenance demands
• Project tests whether technology can sustain large, uneven property

Summary

In this video the creator chronicles his journey from a modest smart‑home setup to an ambitious attempt to automate an entire rural property—including a vineyard, hillside, driveway and orchard.

He recounts modest progress over winter—clearing vines, tidying the house area, and starting the orchard—only to be set back by storms, fallen trees and personal time constraints, underscoring how labor‑intensive large‑scale land management is.

To address the gap, he introduces two robots: a standard house‑cleaning unit and a rugged terrain prototype. The latter excels on flat ground but frequently gets stuck on roots, ivy and slopes, illustrating the gap between consumer‑grade tech and real‑world agricultural conditions.

The experiment raises a broader question: can autonomous systems realistically replace manual labor on uneven, overgrown properties? If successful, such “smart property” solutions could reshape maintenance costs for vineyards, farms and large estates, while also highlighting the current technological limits.

Original Description

This started as a simple smart home… but it quickly turned into something much bigger.

A vineyard, a hillside, a driveway, and more work than I realistically have time for.

So instead of trying to do everything manually, I’m starting to explore something new — a smart property.

Real terrain, real problems, and real attempts to automate as much as possible.

This is just the beginning.

In the next videos, I’ll be testing what actually works — from robot mowers on rough terrain to garden automation, sensors, and more.

No perfect setups. No shortcuts. Just real-world testing.

Stay awesome & connect smarter,

Bearded Tinker

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