Tomatoes wilted at noon, and the homeowner watched the smart sprinkler log a sudden shutdown—proof that technology can turn the tide against thirst. The screen flickered, the icon blinked, and the water stopped even though the garden still begged. What had happened? A system that thinks in weather, schedules, and savings had decided not to waste a single drop.
In a series of field tests, the research team ran almost a dozen options that promised to parse the sky and the clock. They pinned each system onto its own turf, let it run, and observed. The typical setup ran a schedule that woke at dawn, paused at midnight, then used a rain sensor to curb watering when clouds rolled
