Season’s Greetings...
over 5 years ago – Fri, Nov 30, 2018 at 09:47:57 PM

Hello Fellow Backers,

First of all, happy holidays to everyone. Don't know what it's like elsewhere in the world, but, it's a busy shopping season here in the United States both online and on foot. Right now, our focus has been mostly on the electronics. This has been our Achilles heel at the moment. Constant delays have proven to be quite frustrating. After a long discussion with the team, rather than wait, we have decided to forge ahead and begin the manufacturing process of the non-electronic parts now and deal with the electronics as we go. We are in talking now on the manufacturer to get started ASAP. We are as excited and as determined than ever to get to the finish line. Rest assured that the product will get delivered one way or another.

As always, thank you for your supports and understandings.

Team SmartTerra

Still Going Strong...
over 5 years ago – Thu, Nov 01, 2018 at 02:19:01 AM

Hello backers,

Boo! Happy belated Halloween :) We hope you are doing well. Time seems to go by so quickly (at least for us). We are still going strong with the development. We have finalized the unit design. Still waiting on the electronic and the firmware to complete. The coordination between hardware and firmware teams proves to be challenging and we are learning as we go. We are pushing the engineers hard to get everything wrapped up. Everything should be resolved by this coming month. We will make sure to keep you updated.

Mobile Application Development

In parallel, we are continuing to develop SmartTerra mobile application. We change the design and simplify the application a bit. Most of the coding is done. We are currently in the Beta testing stage. For now, we are testing it on the Android platform first. Once, everything is finalized we will then develop iOS version.

Plants are Loving It 

Our working prototype is doing well, plants are thriving and growing very nicely. The soil sensor is holding up well.

Addressing the Delivery Date

We are challenged by the choices between getting things done fast and getting things done right. We choose to get things done right, even though, this may mean a delay on the delivery date. So, to be upfront and honest about this, we anticipate a couple of months delay on the product delivery. We want to assure you that we are now slowing down. However, there are some situations we just cannot control. As always, thank you for your patient and understanding.

Cheers,

Team SmartTerra

Keep on pushing...
over 5 years ago – Sun, Sep 30, 2018 at 11:27:48 PM

Hello Backers,

We are still at it with the electronics and we wish things can go a bit faster than this. At this moment we are waiting to test the new circuit design before finalizing it. We pushing hard on the team to finish up. Meanwhile, one more design change on the unit itself: hinged door. We have made a decision to remove the hinged door for water access and add a sliding water drawer instead (see image). This is the tough decision, but, necessary due to the feedback we got:

• The door opening is too narrow to pour down the water 
• The door design limits the amount of water the tray can hold 
  
• Add unnecessary complexities to the manufacturing and assembly

These change has increased the water tray capacity from 1.5L to 2.5L. 1L or about 60% increase which is a big deal!

We know that the delivery time is fast approaching and we are trying our best to remedy all the challenges. Admittingly, the process is more complex than we fully anticipated. The most important goal for us is to deliver the product that works. 

Thank you for your patience and understanding,

Team SmartTerra

Preview of unit functionalities and a speed bump
over 5 years ago – Thu, Aug 30, 2018 at 08:41:39 PM

Dear Backers,

The trip to the factory was an eye-opening experience into the world of manufacturing. We took a red-eye to Shenzhen, China and went straight to visit the factory. It was quite a marathon! While we are working on getting the unit manufacturing, we are also working on the hardware refinement as well. We have a setback with the hardware. Through the testing cycle, the earlier hardware/firmware prototype is not working reliably enough. As a result, we made a decision to have the hardware redone. Our new team is pushing hard to get the hardware/firmware done and as well as the mobile application. A lot of things to do in such a short period of time, but, we are still confident to deliver the product on time. We will keep you informed of the progress. Here is the VDO to see how SmartTerra unit working with the mobile app. 

Thank You for your support and patience.

The SmartTerra Team

Update from China
over 5 years ago – Thu, Aug 02, 2018 at 07:16:20 PM

Dear Backers,  

In our last update, we have mentioned going to China. Suri and team are presently in China visiting our manufacturing partners. We have met with the manufacturing team and discuss all the details about refinement, assembly, and fulfillment. So far we are happy with the team. Here are some updates on how our project is coming along.  

• We have tested and checked the quality of the new final design prototype, it looks good and neat. The engineer teams have made some changes to the unit to make it stronger.  
• All the components for our product have undergone quality testing and we are ready to begin mass production soon.

Next phase will be checking the electronic circuit and the firmware to make sure that they work as expected. Feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions. Thanks again for all of your kind words and support.

Thank you!

The SmartTerra Team