Steve Fernholz某天從他在美國西雅圖的住家窗戶往外看，突然有了一個(gè)創(chuàng)辦物聯(lián)網(wǎng)(IoT)公司的新點(diǎn)子。
“我從我自己的角度觀察我媽媽正在為樹木澆水的方式，然后想“這就是澆水，供應(yīng)每棵植物所需，”他說：“幾天后，我用一架模型飛機(jī)的零件做出產(chǎn)品原型，然后又過了九個(gè)月，我創(chuàng)辦了一家公司?！?
那家新創(chuàng)公司催生了新一代的自動灑水器 Droplet ，它能取得網(wǎng)絡(luò)上的天氣與土壤數(shù)據(jù)，為庭院里的每棵植物提供經(jīng)過仔細(xì)計(jì)算的澆水量。Fernholz表示，該設(shè)備能為用戶節(jié)省將近九成的水費(fèi)，也就是平均一年約253美元。
現(xiàn)在該設(shè)備已經(jīng)能透過亞馬遜在線商店預(yù)購，售價(jià)299.99美元；內(nèi)含一個(gè)澆水器、一個(gè)定時(shí)器以及一套Raspberry Pi控制板；該設(shè)備采用瑞昱(Realtek) 802.11b/g/n控制器芯片，能透過家用 Wi-Fi 連上因特網(wǎng)，傳輸距離約30英呎。
Fernholz表示：“我們曾嘗試采用不同的IoT通訊協(xié)議，例如低功耗藍(lán)牙、Zigbee；后來考慮傳輸距離以及易用性，我們還是選擇Wi-Fi?！彼^去任職微軟(Microsoft)，負(fù)責(zé)Bing、Office與Windows等產(chǎn)品。
結(jié)合物聯(lián)網(wǎng)技術(shù)的自動灑水器Droplet
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用戶只要透過網(wǎng)絡(luò)瀏覽器就能管理該款自動灑水器，在Droplet于6月份正式上市時(shí)，使用者也能透過iOS或Android設(shè)備上的應(yīng)用程序進(jìn)行遠(yuǎn)程控制。
“我們的連網(wǎng)服務(wù)套件是該產(chǎn)品的真正特色所在；”Fernholz舉例指出，該設(shè)備能延后澆水的時(shí)間，直到計(jì)算出一場預(yù)期中的暴雨實(shí)際降水量有多少。目前他的新公司有五名成員，還正在招募四到五位開發(fā)工程師，并結(jié)束了一輪小型種子資金招募。
接下來Fernholz的任務(wù)是要開發(fā)大型農(nóng)場使用的灑水器，預(yù)期在明年可以誕生：“我的個(gè)人目標(biāo)是透過提供更好的農(nóng)場收獲量以及更好的水資源使用方案，來改變社會?！?
本文授權(quán)編譯自EE Times，版權(quán)所有，謝絕轉(zhuǎn)載
編譯：Judith Cheng
參考英文原文：IoT Sprinkler Taps the Cloud，by Rick Merritt
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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."
責(zé)編：Quentin
