January marked the start of the development process of our own sensor. With our new team member Jesse on board, we went cross country to gather as much information as we could find. We talked with universities, research institutes, agro-advisors but most importantly with growers. They are our end users and researching their needs learned us a great deal about how to design our product.
At Farm21 we believe that the only way to develop a product is in collaboration with the end users. Therefore we use an iterative design process where the end user is involved in many feedback sessions and pilots, even in early stages of development. Currently we run several pilots in the Netherlands, Kenya and Tanzania.
Besides learning from the end user, we also focused on prototyping and testing various ways of measuring soil moisture. We're looking into conventional methods, but some newly found techniques show promising results as well. The next few weeks we'll continue our research and select the best method suitable for our sensor.
Once selected, we'll continue the development with our trusted development partner. We expect great things to happen when we combine their expertise and our knowledge. Creative product solutions awaits us!
We're also working on a series of informative blogs about precision farming. We'll tell you everything you need to know about the benefits, best practices and how our product can be of use for you. Stay tuned...
