Soil Sensor Connectivity

I am VERY MUCH looking forward to being able to add soil moisture sensors to the system! The ultimate in sprinkler control is having the water go on only when needed as detected in the soil. If you are having a beta program here feel free to include me. Thank you for introducing such incredible technology!

@keoni8888

Are there any you had in mind?

I would definitely be interested in a BETA test as well. This is something I am incredibly excited about.

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@utemorley2012 Thanks for the interest, will let you guys know when we have something viable :smile:

Can you share what type of cloud-cloud integration’s might you be working on for this? Kuobachi? GardenBot? Looking forward to this also!

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@wbhartmanii Sure thing.

No promises on dates but something we will deliver hopefully this year.

The short list is:

I’d love to be working on this full time but we are working on a full rewrite of the mobile and webapp (2.0) among other integrations and top-secret projects :wink:

So, when it makes sense we will build and deliver this integration. Should be very straight forward.

Thanks and let us know if you have any other questions or other moisture sensors not on our radar.

To be honest there doesn’t seem to be a clear leader in this space.

I agree on the lack of a clear leader here. I own 3 of the 4 sensors that you have listed and they each have their idiosyncrasies.

PlantLink is a great product but the manufacturer has basically gone under. I have 18 of them and still use them. They are WiFi and quite functional. But we cannot count on further support or development.

I like the Parrot product (have 10 of them) but it uses Bluetooth connectivity to a mobile device and you need to be in range for results. So, walking around your yard to collect moisture data might not be a fun thing.

The Koubachi is interesting and works reasonably well. This is probably your best area of focus as it is WiFi and can report the sensor data that you need. And the company is still in business :-). Not the least expensive solution though but reasonable.

I have not used Edyn.

Hope that helps! Look forward to heading about this upcoming integration!!

John

@keoni8888 Once we build one integration the rest should be fairly simple. Definitely on the short term road map but other priorities first. We have everything in place to make it happen :smile:

Will let ya know when we start to build this out.

:beers:

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Really looking forward to this integration. Any other news on this since 2.0 is close?

@smw006007 To be fully transparent I hope to have this by end of year. No promises. Still on our road map, but without a clear leader it’s hard to commit to this work at the moment. We are very much focusing on our own apps and smart watering algorithms at the moment :wink:

As soon as we start this integration I’ll post our progress.

Thanks!

@franz Thanks for all that you guys continue to do with innovation and integration on this product. Can’t wait to see who you integrate with for soil sensors as I am looking to rollout a couple for both a better understanding of my lawn and also other areas.

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Quick question @Wildcatz_1

Would you be looking to install a sensor in every zone, some zones, or move one between zones?

Best, Emil

I’m really looking forward to http://edyn.com . Hopefully once the API is opened up, and the android app is released I might start looking at diving into sensors.

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@smw006007 Theoretically, once they open the API, you can build your own glue layer until we officially integrate with sensors :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

Just got my first Rachio the other week and am kind of bummed it’s been raining so much here in KC!:stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye: I’m definitely getting with the program and am looking to hook up soil sensors when they come out. First will be a rain/temperature gauge from Netatmo. Can’t wait and looking forward to 2.0!

Hi,
I was reading this topic as I am also interested in the soil sensors.
There is a comment that Iro does not support a physical soil sensors although I found the following link showing a Toro connectivity? http://support.rachio.com/article/366-toro-soil-sensor
So my expectation is that they do work together.
Could you please clarify?

Regards,
Dariusz

HI @franz - I too, am very interested in the integration of soil sensors with IRO. I think we may have spoken about this last year. In my view, this would be the ideal means of determining irrigation needs based on the condition of the soil. I realize the focus has been on IRO 2.0. Has there been any more R&D on sensors in the market place or Rachio developing their own?

Someone in this thread mentioned their liking the Flower Power product. I own one and won’t buy another. It is good in concept however, the bluetooth means I need to be standing somewhere in reach to get any data from it or to update it. I also have had nothing but problems trying to get their firmware updated. They recognized an issue, updated the IOS software but the issue remains. I’ve essentially given up on the product.

I’ve been told this works just like a rain sensor, but for moisture, only allowing the system to run when the yard needs watering. @emil might be able to speak more regarding this.

:beers:

No, too many other priorities. We have an extensive API if someone wanted to prototype the glue between the two worlds. I’m expecting this to be a Winter project if we build the integration.

Still no clear leader. Edyn is promising, but way too new, and no API yet. PlantLink might work, but we need to do some field studies to see if it is worth our effort.

We will not develop our own.

:beers:

@franz - I appreciate the priorities and focus on 2.0. I’m surprised to hear that developing your own soil sensors or partnering with a company is not part of the product strategy or roadmap.

As IRO is touted as a product to help conserve water (and does), I would think a commitment to soil sensors would be a significant improvement to the mantra of the Rachio.

Am I wrong in assuming the benefits to direct sampling of soil in various zones?