There is a wide variety of small-scale farmers who, in order to achieve a more efficient cultivation process, need to constantly monitor parameters such as luminosity and humidity. However, the tools currently available on the market are expensive and complex to implement, leaving many smaller greenhouses and home crops undeserved.
The foundation of any entrepreneurial project is the ability to identify a problem in order to offer a viable solution. At the beginning of 2020, I believed I had identified such a problem: the need for a low-cost device that could measure essential parameters for small-scale agriculture. In the context of that year this idea made a lot of sense to me because supply chains showed how fragile they could be.
This is why I decided to build a device on my own that could meet these requirements. The challenge was enormous, as I had to tackle it without prior knowledge in many of the necessary fields. Along the way, I had to learn Arduino programming, business modeling, lean startup methodologies, digital marketing, and 3D printing.
Once I figured out the hardware needed for the device, I started buying different types of micro controllers, sensors, cables, and other materials to build the GreenOne.
My programming skills were pretty basic at the time, and AI tools weren’t available yet, so progress was slow. Luckily, there are tons of people online who share tutorials and code, especially around Arduino, which has a huge community. Thanks to that, I was able to achieve more specific goals like connect the temperature sensor to the LCD screen.