SmartTerra: Terrarium Revolutionized

Getting Ready for Production
almost 5 years ago – Thu, May 02, 2019 at 01:05:16 AM

Hello Backers,

Finally, the weather is somewhat warming up in New England. Can't wait to spend some time outside! A lot of progress is being made on the tooling from our manufacturer. At this point, we are letting them do their work on tooling adjustments and the test runs. Then, we will be visiting the manufacturer and spend time there inspecting and make sure that everything is going as planned. Meanwhile, we are working hard sourcing out parts and accessories in preparation for full production.

On the electronics side, we are finally getting the first batch of the mainboard (10 boards) ordered for the final testing. They should be arriving either today or tomorrow. These boards will be put to the test before mass production. Any adjustments or corrections will be done at this stage. The mainboard design has taken longer for us to complete. This has to do mainly with the soil and water sensor design changes mentioned in the earlier updates. As for the firmware, much of the development is done and it is waiting to be uploaded and tested on the mainboard. 

Shipping schedule of early August is approaching, things will start to happen more quickly in these coming months. All the pieces are starting to come together and we are staying focused as ever. We have to make sure that everything is accounted for and functions. We want to deliver the product that works. We've already vested too much time and money on the project to falter. As always, thank you for being a great backer and thanks for your amazing support!

Thanks a bunch!

Team SmartTerra

Pushing Onward
about 5 years ago – Sun, Mar 31, 2019 at 10:00:07 PM

Hello Backers,

Our manufacturer is working hard to finish up with the tooling designs. They have been keeping us well informed of their progress. The tooling design is a bit more challenging for them because we have several large pieces with a lot of ribs. But, so far, it is going well and no surprises (fingers crossed). They should be done with the tooling design by mid-April. Once done, they will do a bunch of test runs and make adjustments and corrections as needed before going forward with the production runs. Hopefully, all will be done by early May. Meanwhile, we are still busy getting the electronics finalized and sourcing out all the parts: pumps, speakers, etc.

As for the firmware development, we have to get another developer involved as the previous one quit. Fortunately, we have much of coding already done. Our new developer should not have any problem picking up where it was left off. We will keep you informed of the progress.

We are continuing to push forward and closely monitor the progress of our manufacture in China. We think we've made good headway and intend to keep the momentum going.

Thank you for your support and patient,

Team SmartTerra

Time Flies!
about 5 years ago – Thu, Feb 28, 2019 at 10:15:57 PM

Hello Backers,

February month seems to have gone by fast. Our manufacturer is now back from the long Chinese New Year holiday and going full steam ahead. Since they have been back, we have been in constant communication and working closely with their engineers. Designed parts are so far looking good for creating the toolings for injection molding. This is the critical juncture where the heavy investment happens, so, we have to keep a close eye on this. 

Update on Capacitive Soil Sensors 

After all researching and testings, we finally have good designs for the capacitive soil and water sensors. The capacitive sensors work without requiring direct contact with water/soil like the resistive ones. This should prevent corrosion which commonly happens to the resistive soil sensors. Sensor corrosion has always been a concern and we are glad we've finally come up with a good solution.

There are still many things to do and we are excited to continue making progress toward the shipment of SmartTerra. On the next update, we will be covering more on the firmware and application. And as always, thank you for your patient and understanding.

Team SmartTerra

Going to production
about 5 years ago – Thu, Jan 31, 2019 at 09:44:24 PM

 Hi Backers,

Finally, we are moving into the production of the unit. The manufacturer is going over all the parts and make any final adjustments needed for mold-injection. Because we have many large parts to be mold-injected, the process can take up to 2 months. We are told that in February month, the entire country of China shuts down to celebrate Chinese New Year. This pushes things back a bit. Not to worry, though, we still plenty to do in the meantime. While our manufacturer is doing their work, we will be concentrating our efforts on the electronic/firmware and the application development. We will be putting the firmware to the test, especially, the communication between them. In additions, we will be looking into replacing the resistive soil/water sensors with the capacitive ones once we find a reliable solution. Things should start to move faster now after this month. We will be sure to keep you informed of the progress. Thank you for your patience and trust in us.

Team SmartTerra

Happy New Year!
over 5 years ago – Sun, Dec 30, 2018 at 11:09:31 PM

Hello Backers,

Happy New Year to our loyal backers. 2018 has been a busy and exciting year for us. So much is learned from all the trials and tribulations we have been through. Thank you for your support and your patients. Many significant design changes have been made to improve the product. Look back at the year, here are the changes we have made:

-Heighten the unit by 3 cm -Thicken up the base and the foundation plates -Change the mounting grooves on the foundation plate -Improve the water drawer to increase the water storage capacity (from 1.5L to 2.5L) -Redesign the electronics (finishing up as we speak) -Change and simplify the mobile application GUI

When we thought we were done with the design changes, we recently noticed the warping along the front edge of the acrylic tank due to moisture. To remedy this problem, we have added a center lip to the top rim in order to keep the warping in check. The lip also serves as a way to keep the top rim snug with the acrylic tank (see images below).

Looking forward to early 2019, we will be getting tooling done and start the mass production of the unit. At the same time, we will be wrapping up the electronics and begin to put the electronics and the firmware through the stability test. The mobile-application team will also be finishing up with the Android version and move onto developing the iOS version.

Producing the product of this scale is time-consuming and pretty expensive. We have a tight budget and have to stay lean. Every dollar spent has to be thought through carefully. We cannot afford too many failures in executions. Good news is, up until recently, we've secured more funding for the project! This should give us more breathing room to operate. So rest assured that you will get the product delivered.

Finally, we wish 2019 be the happiest and the prosperous year to you all. Be safe and don't drink too much :)

Team SmartTerra