Goal: $10,925
Funding Period: Until July 3, 2015
Creator: Grüt
Grüt is a new tool to help children grow their own plants and crops. Grüt comes as a kit that includes a sensor that connect to an app as well as seeds of the child’s choice. The sensors are places in the plant and measure conditions such as light, temperature, and soil moisture. The information gathered from the sensors is then sent to the app where feedback is provided to the children through a plant avatar.
The avatar’s status reflects the status of the plant and changes based on how the real plant is feeling.
When the plant needs water the avatar on the app will need water as well. When the child waters the plant the avatar will be happy again. Some interactions the child makes with the plant, such as trimming dead leaves, must be entered manually.
The app has seven different features including Environment, Menu, Selected Plant, To Do List, Status Stickers, The Box, and Polaroids. The Environment feature is the apps home screen. It is customizable and can be changed to match the environment in the child’s home. The Menu feature is where you go to edit the plant’s profile and change settings. The Selected Plant feature is the plant you are monitoring and trying to grow. It displays how the plant is feeling and allows the child to input any changes you have made to the plant. The To Do List feature gives a list of all of the things you must do every day to keep your plant alive and healthy. If these tasks are not completed it will be displayed and the avatar will begin to get grumpy. The Status Stickers feature gives you a quick overview on whether the plant is receiving too little/too much sunlight or water and if the environment is not suiting for the plant based on the sensor readings. The Box feature adds other information to the app such as videos and diagrams about the plants growth. It also includes recipes you and your child can make with the plant he or she is growing. Finally, with the Polaroids feature, the child is able to take pictures of his or her plant and virtual friend!
During research Grüt creators discovered that children are more likely to take care of something to which they feel emotionally connected. Through the app, the plant becomes sort of like the child’s friend and they are able to share feelings. The child is more engaged knowing that both the real plant and the avatar plant depend on him or her.
Grüt’s Kickstarter campaign will run through Friday, July 3 and the funds raised will go towards designing a custom sensor case, producing the sensors, and designing and developing the app.
Click here to support Grüt!
