CHESTER, New Jersey — As snow blanketed New Jersey, a resident of Morris County opted for a modern solution to tackle the icy buildup, letting a robot take charge of clearing his driveway while he remained cozy indoors.

His innovative choice has captured widespread attention, with a video of the robotic snow blower going viral and amassing millions of views online.

Tom Moloughney noted that many doubted the machine’s capability, particularly considering the vastness of his driveway.

“My driveway is quite extensive, stretching over 6,000 square feet and extending more than 300 feet uphill,” Moloughney explained. “It’s a tough challenge, but if this machine can handle my driveway, I’m confident it can handle most others.”

Rather than utilizing a conventional snow blower this past weekend, Moloughney, who resides in Chester, New Jersey, decided to put an autonomous model through its paces.

But he says it didn’t come easy.

“It takes a while to set them up, I’ll tell you right now, this isn’t for people that just want to buy something, take it out of a box and use it,” he said. “I have probably 30 hours invested in assembling, programing it, walking it around my driveway. Because you have to settle the perimeters. You have to set the angle that the shoots are going to throw the snow. It’s actually a lot of setup, but there’s a big reward waiting for you at the end of that set up because it actually works.”

Once programmed, the machine works on its own, starting when the snow does.

“So you turn it on when it starts snowing and you just let it run continuously,” Moloughney said.

It ran through the night and returned to its charging dock as needed.

“I had it running all night, and when I woke up this morning, my driveway is done,” Moloughney said.

Moloughney says this is a glimpse of how technology is changing everyday chores.

“That’s how robotics and AI helps us live better lives,” he said. “Who wants to be outside clearing your driveway?”

And he believes this is just the beginning.

“This is first gen and like any tech, you know, it only gets bigger, better and less expensive as time goes on,” Moloughney said. “So I 100% can see these things eventually being used at municipalities much larger scale than what mine is.”

The Yarbo snow blower is priced at $4,999.