Currently, sprinkler systems often use timers to keep lawns watered, however, they can be extremely wasteful as far as water is concerned. For those that want to set the timer and then forget about the sprinkler, in the event of something like rain, users could end up having their sprinkler turn on for no reason.

That's particularly problematic in areas like California, which are experiencing severe droughts. One company, however, aims to help put an end to the wasting of water and has announced a smart sprinkler system that uses high-tech sensors to measure how much water it needs to use.

The system, called ETwater, uses its sensors to measure how much water the soil around it can take, delivering just as much as it needs without using too much.

"People who have different zones in their yard, like flower beds or trees, people who really care about this stuff are attracted to our service," said ETwater CEO Lee Williams in an interview with Wired.

The new system, however, doesn't stop at just sensing the soil around it. It also uses environmental sensors to monitor things like slope and temperature and takes information from external sources of information such as weather forecasts. Using these forecasts, the system can know whether or not it's going to rain, and if it is, the system knows not to turn on, saving precious water.

As the system collects more information about the climate and a user's lawn, it uses machine learning to make predictions about how much water the lawn and plants need. The sensors can communicate with one another over cellular networks, so they don't need to be close enough to connect to the user's Wi-Fi network.

The company also plans on releasing a mobile app, which will help users control their water usage from their device.

Via: Wired