Sensor Tells iPhone When Plants are Thirsty

From the WSJ:

This gadget is for anybody who declares they have an uncanny knack for killing plants. But if they were honest, they would admit that their problem is lack of attention to water, fertilizer and all the other things which keep green things alive.

The “Koubachi”, which takes its name from the “tamagotchi” digital pets popular in the 1990s, is the result of a spin-out from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zürich). It is the first of the “smart objects” it plans to create and it is now on sale across Europe.

Pocket Lint describes the Koubachi:

It’s a device that you stick into the pot of one of your plants to measure the soil moisture, temperature and light levels of the room. It then talks to the cloud and, through a free iPhone or web application, let’s you explore exactly what care your greenery needs and when, based on scientific care models.

Thanks to some clever jiggery-pokery, the one sensor can also be used to monitor all of your plants from just the one pot. You give the app information on the types of plants you own and it creates a detailed plan.

A Koubachi costs €122.60 or £99 which covers a lifetime of updates to the app and plant library.

Pocket Lint: Koubachi Wi-Fi Plant Sensor hits UK in time for Chelsea Flower Show