Many people have doorbell cameras to see who’s there or whether a package has been delivered, but now those devices could tell you if your sprinklers need to run.
A new AI-powered irrigation system uses doorbell cameras to monitor rainfall and adjust lawn watering, helping homeowners save money and conserve water. Researchers say the technology can reduce water bills by up to $29 a month for a single home. | Credit: Kaitlyn Johnson/Texas A&M University College of Engineering
Home irrigation systems are often programmed to automatically go on and off at set times and days, but when it rains, it’s not uncommon for sprinklers to run even when not needed. An innovation called “ERIC” developed by researchers at Texas A&M University claims to cut down on excess watering by turning doorbell cameras into rainfall monitors.
It works by analyzing the camera footage using machine learning models to determine how much rain has fallen and automatically adjusts both the duration and day that the irrigation controller waters a lawn.
The researchers say in a statement that their more precise irrigation schedule cuts down on excess watering and provides accurate rain data. Some commercial irrigation systems do monitor if it rains but not how much. Their new AI-enhanced tool measures how much water has fallen in that precise location. The system was praised recently as being an incredibly creative method to utilize existing hardware.
The researchers published a paper on their innovation, saying it can save homeowners up to 9,000 gallons of water a month, using just the camera and a low-cost irrigation controller.
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GET WET! 