自动洒水器用物联网技术帮忙省水

Steve Fernholz某天从他在美国西雅图的住家窗户往外看，突然有了一个创办物联网(IoT)公司的新点子。 “我从我自己的角度观察我妈妈正在为树木浇水的方式，然后想“这就是浇水，供应每棵植物所需，”他说：“几天后，我用一架模型飞机的零件做出产品原型，然后又过了九个月，我创办了一家公司。” 那家新创公司催生了新一代的自动洒水器 Droplet ，它能取得网络上的天气与土壤数据，为庭院里的每棵植物提供经过仔细计算的浇水量。Fernholz表示，该设备能为用户节省将近九成的水费，也就是平均一年约253美元。 现在该设备已经能透过亚马逊在线商店预购，售价299.99美元；内含一个浇水器、一个定时器以及一套Raspberry Pi控制板；该设备采用瑞昱(Realtek) 802.11b/g/n控制器芯片，能透过家用 Wi-Fi 连上因特网，传输距离约30英呎。 Fernholz表示：“我们曾尝试采用不同的IoT通讯协议，例如低功耗蓝牙、Zigbee；后来考虑传输距离以及易用性，我们还是选择Wi-Fi。”他过去任职微软(Microsoft)，负责Bing、Office与Windows等产品。

结合物联网技术的自动洒水器Droplet
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用户只要透过网络浏览器就能管理该款自动洒水器，在Droplet于6月份正式上市时，使用者也能透过iOS或Android设备上的应用程序进行远程控制。 “我们的连网服务套件是该产品的真正特色所在；”Fernholz举例指出，该设备能延后浇水的时间，直到计算出一场预期中的暴雨实际降水量有多少。目前他的新公司有五名成员，还正在招募四到五位开发工程师，并结束了一轮小型种子资金招募。 接下来Fernholz的任务是要开发大型农场使用的洒水器，预期在明年可以诞生：“我的个人目标是透过提供更好的农场收获量以及更好的水资源使用方案，来改变社会。” 本文授权编译自EE Times，版权所有，谢绝转载 编译：Judith Cheng 参考英文原文：IoT Sprinkler Taps the Cloud，by Rick Merritt

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{pagination} IoT Sprinkler Taps the Cloud Rick Merritt SAN JOSE, Calif. — Steve Fernholz looked out the window of his Seattle home and got an idea for an Internet of Things startup. "I was watching the way my mom was watering the trees on my behalf, and I thought, 'That's the way to do it. Just give each plant what it needs,'" he told us. "A couple days later, I had a prototype with parts from a model flying airplane, and now, nine months later, I have a startup." Thus was born Droplet, a next-generation automated sprinkler that taps into weather and soil data over the web to deliver carefully calibrated amounts of water to each plant in a yard. Fernholz said it can slash water bills as much as 90% -- about $253 a year for the average user. The device, now available on Amazon.com for $299.99, includes a sprinkler head, a timer, and a Raspberry Pi controller board. It uses a Realtek 802.11b/g/n controller to link to the Internet over a home WiFi net like another access point. "We looked at different IoT protocols, such as low-power Bluetooth and Zigbee, but for the range and ease of use, we chose WiFi," said Fernholz, a former Microsoft employee who worked on Bing, Office, and Windows. The $299.99 Droplet device has a range of about 30 feet. Users can manage the devices via a browser, or they can use iOS and Android apps that will be available when Droplet starts shipping in June. "Our connected services suite is where the device really shines." For example, it can delay watering until it finds out how much of a predicted downpour actually falls. The five-person company is hiring another four or five developers and has closed a small seed round with investors. The next major goal is to develop a version for farmers, probably sometime next year. "It's a personal goal of mine to effect social change by empowering better farm yields and better water use."