True confession time. I am a killer. I kill plants. I try to grow them indoors and outdoors with the same results. Poor little green friends. It may be that they dry out (oops! Forgot the water!). They have come too close to the radiator too. And outdoor stuff seems to suffer a variety of deaths: lack of sun, weeds, neighborhood cat deposits. I really DO enjoy having plants around. But how to keep them alive?
Time to incorporate the smartphone in keeping greenery alive. Parrot – more famous for electronics like their R/C AR Drone – plans on launching Flower Power in 2013. They call it “the most advanced plant sensor” and after researching it I believe them! These two pronged gadgets easily slide into any pot or planter or bed to measure critical plant stats. Via Bluetooth they transmit data to your smartphone’s Flower Power app. Parrot consulted botanists to ensure they measured the right stuff so you will get information on soil moisture, humidity, sun exposure, temperature and fertilizer. And of course the app can alert you when any of the plant’s “vitals” are out of whack. So for people like me…growing plants becomes easy! You can track up to 6,000 plants, errr sensors with the app. One AAA battery is required per sensor but you will get months of life from it. Parrot has not announced a launch date or time. But in all of the press they received at CES they insisted it will be out this year. Popular Mechanics and Stuff magazine both liked Flower Power so much they gave it a CES award. If they experts like it you, like me, probably will too.