We’ve talked plenty about smart home technology on Home Gadget Geeks, but the devices are mostly for indoor use, exclusively. So what about outdoors? That’s right, we’re talking about your garden, backyard, or front lawn. Surely if everything has been upgraded on the inside, the outside can also see some improvement.

How can we take your outdoor area to the next level? How can we incorporate technology into something as natural as looking after your lawn? Let’s take a look at the best outdoor smart tech for your home and yard.

Can you make your backyard “smart”?

It doesn’t seem to make sense, but it is, indeed, possible, to make your backyard “smart”. There are a lot of little aspects that can be made quicker, easier, more efficient, or just cleaner with the help of technology.

This isn’t to say that all the case is entirely automated; you can still keep a close eye on things. However, the difficult tasks become easier or less labor-intensive and just a little more precise.

What smart outdoor technology does is enable you to free up time that would have otherwise been spent doing chores and level up your outdoors experience, whether we’re talking about mowing the lawn, raging to music on your outdoor speakers, or achieving the perfect burger.

Here are just 5 of the smart outdoor home devices that you can use to take your outdoor area to the next level.

1. Robot lawnmower

Do you hate mowing? Most of us do, so thankfully, the ultimate miracle has happened, and there’s now something that will mow your lawn for you. Similar to an automatic vacuum cleaner, the smart lawnmower does not need to be pushed, driven, or prodded. All you have to do is turn it on.

This clever device maps out your space to determine what areas need to be mowed. Once the machine knows exactly where to go and what to mow, you can just allow it to do its job. It’s that easy!

Our friend Erin Lawrence from http://techgadgetscanada.com/ did a review of the Husqvarna Robotic Mower on Home Gadget Geeks

What is the advantage? Obviously, most people don’t exactly look forward to mowing their lawn. It’s a difficult job, it’s time-consuming, and it’s labor-intensive. You push, you sweat, and you make lots of noise. It’s less than ideal, overall.

You can pay a neighborhood kid to come and mow your lawn for you, or you can get yourself a smart gadget that does your most hated chore for you. And it won’t step on your daffodils or steal from your garage, either. Now, your lawn can look perfectly manicured for when your friends come over. And you didn’t have to lift a finger!

2. Smart sprinklers

It’s not that anyone is inventing something particularly innovative with smart sprinklers, but they differ from regular automatic sprinklers in important ways. The main thing is that they are connected to Wi-Fi and that enables you to have more control over your sprinklers, and how or when they work.

It doesn’t get easier than this – you can control them via your smartphone, which means that you can tweak them remotely and check up on your lawn from far away. It’s super sunny? Adjust the water volume. Unexpected rain? Turn the sprinklers off. You’ve left home and forgot to schedule the sprinkler system? Do it from your hotel room.

What is the advantage? The main draw with this device is the convenience it offers. There is a lot of control regained here. For most people, their lawn is their pride and joy, so when it ends up drying out or being overwatered, it’s nothing short of a tragedy.

If you’re equally neurotic about your lawn, smart technology allows you to have greater control over the watering process, including times, volume, frequency, etc. You can even let it do its own thing automatically – set it and forget it!

You can get started with a Rachio 3 Smart Sprinkler Controller. It works with Alexa and has 8 Zones. Retail is just over $200 as the time of this post.

3. Smart pool cleaners

If you have a pool then smart poor cleaners can save you plenty of time and energy. No one really likes cleaning their pool, do they? It’s a dirty job and it doesn’t smell great with all the chemicals. Not to mention keeping the tiles clean and making sure the filter isn’t all clogged up. On top of all that, you need to check the water’s pH levels to make sure it’s safe to swim in.

Why do that yourself, when you can purchase gadgets that do the job for you? There are pool monitors that can stay on top of the water condition – including chemical levels, temperature, and even aspects such as weather, to let you know when you need to intervene to bring your pool water to optimum levels.

Smart pool cleaning is a thing too, with pool robots doing the dirty jobs for you. Just let it roam around your pool and it will scrub it within an inch of its life, making sure that it’s always squeaky clean.

What is the advantage? Unless you love cleaning the pool and smelling like chlorine, then these gadgets can represent an immense help. Who needs a pool boy when you’ve got a pool robot? You never have to dive in an under heated or gross pool ever again. It will transform your pool parties and outdoor gatherings.

You can get started with a Dolphin Nautilus CC Plus Automatic Robotic Pool Cleaner from Amazon. Like robot lawn mowers, these are not cheap. This one is top rated.

4. Smart grill thermometer

Grilling doesn’t necessarily require technology but just because it doesn’t need it, doesn’t mean it can’t benefit from it. It can be difficult to determine when your meat is just about ready, and cooked just the way you like it. Well, fortunately for you, there’s a device that can let you know when your meat is perfect.

A smart thermometer that is especially designed to make grilling a piece of cake will probe each individual piece and warn you when they’re ready. That means you don’t have to stand around in the heat, waiting for your meat to be done, because you get a notification on your phone.

What is the advantage? The main advantage is being able to ensure perfectly cooked meat, every single time. If you have a lot of parties or just a large family and everyone has different preferences, it can be tricky to nail everyone’s tastes. And there’s nothing worse than someone who wanted a medium-rare burger getting a charred one.

We have lots of good grill and BBQ tech here on Home Gadget Geeks. Check out this search link and get the latest

5. Smart speakers

No one wants to bring their expensive speakers out right next to the pool, right? You’re committed to the tunes, but even more committed to the hundreds of dollars you paid for your sound system. Plus, with all the wires and whatnot, transferring everything into the backyard is just a huge pain no one asked for.

However, some smart speakers are not only wireless, they also connect to your Wi-Fi, the overall smart network you’ve got set up for your home (via Bluetooth), and they are waterproof. That’s right, you can even submerge these babies underwater in that pool you’ve just had cleaned, and they will keep blasting whatever you told Alexa to play.

What is the advantage? We’d say the outstanding quality, here, is the waterproof aspect, because that becomes a real problem when the kids have the paddling pool out or when it starts to rain, all of a sudden. But the ability to seamlessly take your indoor party outdoors is also notable. No need to stop everything and then start up again when your speakers are already connected to the central system and your Amazon Echo.

We recently had Hall of Fame Podcaster Dave Jackson on Home Gadget Geeks and talked about Smart Speakers. Find it here.

Conclusion

Who knew that smart technology could even help with the outdoors? Believe it or not, it’s easier than you think to incorporate Wi-Fi, devices, and smart tech in order to improve the way you take care of your backyard and make things easier when you’re entertaining or just spending time there.

Outdoor devices can be “smart” just like indoor ones. Whether we’re talking about a robot that cleans your pool, one that mows your lawn, a smart sprinkler, a speaker, or a thermostat that enables you to achieve the perfect burger every single time, there is no limit to how technology can improve the way your backyard looks and the way you spend time here.

Chris Leveson is a writer and blogger who enjoys writing about tech, gadgets and all things digital. He’s based in sunny Los Angeles, hence his special interest in garden and outdoor technology.