The Droplet is a robotic watering system that wants to make watering more efficient by aiming at specific plants, rather than indiscriminately watering everything in sight.
It doesn’t move around like a Roomba, but sits in one spot and hooks up to your garden hose to aim a stream of water at each plant. It knows where to water, how much to water, and what pattern to water thanks to the advanced configuration options accessed through a tablet, smartphone, or computer.
It can draw real-time info from 10,000 US weather stations, but factors in seasonal weather data, recent conditions and current forecasts to decide whether the plants need watering, and if so, by how much. It even looks at soil data and transpiration rates for different plants. It tracks its own water consumption, too. The gadget has a 30-foot range in any direction and can be set to water potted plants, trees, lawns, and even fill outside dog bowls.
Droplet will be released March 24, but is available to preorder from Amazon for US$299.99. Its makers claim that it can reduce sprinkler water consumption by up to 90 percent, and saves sprinkler users an average of $263 a year. If that proves accurate, a sprinkler with brains could be a worthwhile investment.
source: c/net, gizmag