Maker Faire, iphone, maker faire 2008, plant, plants, water, watering

Remote Plant Watering Via iPhone

Peter set up a robotic watering can to take directions from an iPhone. When Safari's screen state goes from horizontal to vertical, it sends a status update to a webserver via javascript that sets the watering can up or down. Pretty simple but clever setup. [Maker Faire]

2:33 AM on Mon May 5 2008
By Brian Lam
5,742 views
14 comments

Comments

Xacnhto at 02:43 AM on 05/05/08
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its a slow sunday i see...
theimmc at 03:03 AM on 05/05/08
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@Xacnhto: Maker Faire, iPhone. How can gizmodo possibly resist posting?
Hvedhrungr at 03:11 AM on 05/05/08
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Jeepers... that iPhone! What can't it do?!
TedB. at 03:22 AM on 05/05/08
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If you are so lazy that you can't even water your own plants, then you would not even have plants in the first place.

Which makes this pointless.
pradster at 04:42 AM on 05/05/08
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now i need to jesus-bone to water my plants, i'll stick stick the lazy dork sign to my head.
Thank you!
recklessinoz at 05:32 AM on 05/05/08
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Your iPhone can turn water into wine, so how is this good for your plants?
strider_mt2k at 06:26 AM on 05/05/08
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I feel so stupid for having gone down and twisted a valve...
OMG! Ponies! at 07:01 AM on 05/05/08
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Why would I need to water my plants?

They've been dead for months, rendering the whole watering - whether in person or via remote - completely moot.
SgtMac02 at 08:17 AM on 05/05/08
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Wow...what a horrendous waste of time and brainpower. I think there was about 4 times the energy spent making that thing than there would have been spent in just watering the plant manually for its entire lifespan.
Curves at 08:19 AM on 05/05/08
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This is ok for one plant. I have about 25 of them. I either need 24 plantless friends with iphones or.....wait....I could just LIFT the can...nah....to much trouble.
bms at 09:00 AM on 05/05/08
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Wait, is that a hacked iPhone?
Joseph at 09:12 AM on 05/05/08
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@Hvedhrungr: Send picture messages.
Kaiser-Machead at 10:18 AM on 05/05/08
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Wouldn't have been simpler to just have a small pump with a water source spray the plant on a regular schedule with a cheap timer?
ripfire4 at 11:02 AM on 05/05/08
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Back when I did my senior project, I built a home automation system (including a sprinkler system) that can be controlled via internet. I used a TINI microcontroller built in with TCP/IP stack, Fast Ethernet even host its own web server and it's nowhere as big as the one on the video.