Over 5 years ago RX Plastics came to QTech with the need for a more effective sprinkler controller for solid set systems. The re-purposed residential timers that were commonly being used to control fixed sprinklers and pods were not efficient in terms of time and did not provide surety that water was actually being placed when and where the farmer needed. With over 33 years’ experience in telemetry, remote monitoring and data recording, QTech put their product development and technical skills to the test to create an intelligent device that would be robust and reliable as well as simple and convenient to use.
Working closely with farmers and RX, we were able to create the irrigation point controller (IPC). A unique, radio programmed device that has been cleverly designed to turn water on and off, based on a predetermined schedules. In the beginning IPC’s schedules could only be manged in the field using a handheld programmer known as an EP3. Although this gave farmers the ability to change schedules if they needed, we realised that is still wasn’t a very convenient or easy way to manage irrigation.
After significant on field testing and gaining feedback from our dedicated farmers, we were able to create a system that would allow users to remotely configure, control and monitor their solid set sprinklers. Our Irrigation Management System, also known as IMS, is a cloud based platform that provides farmers with a visualisation of their farm operations and lets them manage their sprinkler schedules, anywhere and at any time. The web based application is accessible on any personal device and can also be set up to send out alerts to significant events or important issues.
Our latest development has been the introduction of sensor technology into our solution. With growing concerns around the uses of clean water we realised that it wasn’t enough for farmers to just control water, they also needed to have reliable and accurate information in order to understand when and where they should irrigate. Soil moisture, soil temperature, rain gauge, flow meter and tank level technology can all now be integrated into IMS to help farmers determine optimal water schedules.
With a complete irrigation solution now available and over 20, 000 units in the field, we have decided to create a new brand called ‘Water-Insight’ Under this new name we will continue to create products that allows farmers to be more productive and more sustainable. Our technology is constantly evolving and we are continuously coming up with ways to make systems better and more efficient for farmers
Explore the website and if you aren’t already signed up to IMS, try our free live demo to see what it would be like to have our irrigation management system on your farm.
If you have any questions or would like to talk to someone about the new developments please send us an email at info@waterinsight.co.nz and we will be in contact as soon as possible.