NEIGHBORHOOD DISRUPTORS

These three start-ups are improving life at home

Story by WILL MADDOX | Photos by KATHLEEN KENNEDY

Technology changes the way we communicate, travel and live, making the most difficult tasks almost enjoyable. East Dallas neighbors, no strangers to innovation, are often on the cutting edge of reinvention. These three local companies might just transform the way we tackle domestic tasks forever.

Grass guzzler

When neighbor Chris Usrey told his lawn crew that they were about to be replaced by a robot, they looked at him like he was crazy. A couple months later he did just that, and they were still shocked. “This is the future,” Usrey said. “The future is here.”

Usrey uses Robin, a self-guided robot that mows your lawn every day. An underground perimeter tells the robot where to go and not go, and it finds its charging station each night to power up for the next cut. Each day, it trims a fraction of the grass, leaving minimal clippings.

Robin is the brainchild of Justin Crandall and Bart Lomont, who designed the robot with the help of Dialexa Labs, a local technology consulting firm and incubator for innovative ideas. They launched the robot in 2015.

The technology is popular in Europe, but companies have been unable to popularize