Another wow from technology…I want one!
Tuesday, December 5, 2006
Newport rolls out robot sprinklers
'Smart' systems could mean cleaner oceans, lower water use.
By PAT BRENNAN, The Orange County Register
NEWPORT BEACH – At first it was a little strange for Christy Duss to forget about her sprinklers.
Duss and husband Mark were accustomed to turning them on and off to keep their lawn and landscaping green, one of the many routine chores that are part of running a home with five children.
Now, they mostly ignore the sprinklers. Instead, a kind of cyborg gardener keeps track for them, riffling through a database on soil type, slope, sunshine and plant cover in their yard, and communing with a satellite about the weather.
The Dusses are among the first Newport Beach residents to sign on for a free, satellite-controlled irrigation system that city officials hope will eventually reduce the torrents of water runoff – much of it loaded with pesticides and fertilizer – that flow into the ocean each day.
