Pop-Sci Core77 Design Challenge/ Description MEMORY 7/16/03

Description of Design

B o t a n i s t a --------------------------------- g a r d e n l o g i c How many innocent plants have you killed through lack of gardening knowledge? Botanista will turn any amateur gardener into a gardening genius! Nutshell &Mac183; Collects and stores garden data. &Mac183; "Memory Bud" sticks into the ground or plugs into back of trowel to collect data. &Mac183; Measures data such as soil pH, light and moisture over time. &Mac183; "Memory Bud" is dropped into docking pot to charge via solar energy and upload data wirelessly to the Internet. &Mac183; User accesses website where data is displayed as usable information and suggestions to make gardening easier and more fun. Components &Mac183; Memory Bud – data collector and memory &Mac183; Garden Trowel – has embedded sensors that connect to Memory Bud &Mac183; Pot-Dock – docking station for Memory Bud Concept Details The Botanista gardening system is targeted at home gardeners who want to take the guesswork out of designing and managing their gardens. The Memory Bud uses embedded sensors to collect and store critical plant growth data such as soil composition, pH, moisture content, as well as external conditions such as sunlight, temperature etc. in various areas of your garden through. All this data is uploaded to the web, processed, and tied into existing databases such as weather patterns etc. An interactive website generates easily usable, graphically rich and valuable information for the user. Here the user can design and manage their garden on an ongoing basis for optimum results. Value &Mac183; Offers suggestions as to ideal plant types, ideal areas, and watering schedules. &Mac183; Generates maps showing problem areas and the appropriate solutions. &Mac183; Design your garden online based on your data and preferences. &Mac183; Sends reminders to the user to stay on task on watering etc. &Mac183; Displays seasonal data- what to plant, when, and how. &Mac183; Displays warnings if conditions are deteriorating in certain areas. &Mac183; Manages gardening budget- give gardener best bang for their buck! &Mac183; View regional data uploaded from other users (neighborhood networking) This product can take the guesswork out of gardening, help you with that trouble spot in your lawn, or just explain why volunteer basil came up instead of the tomatoes you planted.