SmartTerra: Terrarium Revolutionized

Ready for Assembly
over 4 years ago – Tue, Oct 01, 2019 at 10:45:36 PM

Hi Backers,

We have a short update on production.  We have finalized the tooling, and we are now working on the final Fit and Functional testing.  We will be ready for mass production and assembly in a couple of weeks . We are still on track to deliver SmartTerra to you before Christmas. 

The Special Soil Mix for SmartTerra is also being improved upon.  We have tested it with bonsai growing in it for about a month and they are growing very well.  You can add the special soil mix and other accessories with your SmartTerra and they will be shipped together at: https://smartterra.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders

Sincerely,

Team SmartTerra

Update 29 - Pushing Forward
over 4 years ago – Thu, Sep 05, 2019 at 10:14:39 PM

Hi Backers,

We are just getting back from the long Labor Day weekend. This also means that Summer is soon coming to an end, and the beautiful Fall season is coming. Storms are more active around this time of the year, so we will need to keep a close eye on the weather reports. Things are still chugging along. It seems to be going slower than we would have liked, so we are continuing to push everyone hard on all sides to finish up. As for sourcing parts, we have found all the parts. However, we remain vigilant about tariff uncertainties; we are trying to lock down prices and quantities for all parts to ensure that costs do not get out of hand.

Make certain that we have not lost our focus on bringing the product to life. We will not stop until we deliver SmartTerra to all our backers. We can never thank you enough for believing in us. Stay tuned.

Sincerely,

Team SmartTerra

Battle on...
over 4 years ago – Thu, Aug 01, 2019 at 09:58:13 PM

Hello Backers,

We've survived the heatwave that hit us a couple of weeks ago. We shall give a big thanks to the air conditioners. The weather here is still quite warm, but not too humid (which is a good thing).

We've sourced all the parts needed for the production of SmartTerra. Right now, we are waiting on the hardware and firmware. The hardware is still not quite right, but, nothing major. Our firmware engineer has been working hard to finish his part. He has also has been giving good feedback to the hardware engineer about issues with the pre-production mainboard. We are monitoring their progress closely. At this moment, we have to let them work through the problems. As for the new shipping schedule, we are still on track for that.

We are fully committed to the project and we are doing what we can to bring this project to life. We can never thank you enough for your encouragement and understanding. 

Cheers and stay cool,

Team SmartTerra

Curb Our Enthusiasm
almost 5 years ago – Tue, Jul 02, 2019 at 08:34:36 PM

 Dear Backers,

I hope this finds you well. It’s starting to warm up quite nicely here in the northeast.

After a long discussion with the team, advisory board, and manufacturer, we have come to the decision to delay delivery to December 2019. This is tough news for us to deliver, but a dose of reality to manufacturing at this scale forces us to rethink a more realistic scheduling goal.

SmartTerra, a smart terrarium, is a completely new concept. It uses technology to simulate the natural environment (night & day, rainstorms with thunder/lightning, soundscape, etc.), while enabling mobile application control. These features notably lower maintenance compared to a traditional terrarium. Turning a prototype into a working product is not as easy as it seemed; we anticipated that, but did not think it would take this long.

There are 3 major parts that make up SmartTerra — hardware, firmware, and mobile application. Each part is a project of its own, coupled with unique challenges. Our biggest hurdle right now is getting the firmware to work reliably. The firmware team needs more time for additional changes and testing, hence pushing the timeline back a bit.

To keep within our budget, work is outsourced to several firms in different time zones. Collaboration between teams is the pain we have to constantly deal with, but we are getting better as we go.

As we are waiting on progress from our engineering team, we are doing what we can on the part of logistics. We have been thinking about packaging and shipping to make sure that SmartTerra gets to your house in one piece. Furthermore, we have established a customer support system and a community forum in case you need help.

While disappointed by this delay, my team and I are committed to delivering a high quality and reliable product that you and your loved ones will enjoy for years to come. Our top priority is ensuring you have a seamless experience with SmartTerra.

I want to thank you again for your support and patience as we work hard to bring our idea to reality! 

Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions.

Sincerely,

Team SmartTerra

It's All Coming Together
almost 5 years ago – Mon, Jun 03, 2019 at 09:06:12 PM

Hello Backers,

First of all, so much thanks to you all for answering our survey. We've got a great number of participants. The survey results really help us understand your needs and how we can grow our business. The production is going as planned--and we want to keep it that way :) Our manufacture is almost done with the tooling. Electronics are being tested for functionalities and stability. Soon, we will put them all together and do the major testing. At the same time, we are getting the website ready. We are putting together contents and online resources that will be useful to you. You should be able to find everything you need there: educational info, tips, and accessories you may need. We are also setting up the community forum. This will be a place for you to post support questions, exchange ideas and thoughts. We should have the website and the forum soon, so, stay tuned. 

Thanks,

Team SmartTerra