After blooming profusely this spring, as seen in the picture below, the crabapple tree in my backyard is showing signs of some form of disease. It is generally more lush during summer (at least it was last summer), so I read about ways I could attempt to save it. One of the suggested ways was to water it daily, so I set up the garden hose this afternoon and sat there watching the tree get watered.

As I was watching it get watered, I glanced at an outdoor security camera I had installed, and that made me think about a new product opportunity.

If you are a gardening lover, you know that there are a plethora of apps available on both IOS and Android that can help you navigate the plant world, like identifying the plant and providing insights on the health of the plant, with recommendations on what needs to be done if the app detects that the plant is not healthy. The challenge is that when it comes to distressed plants, these apps are primarily reactive. In my case, it looks unlikely that I can save the tree. But what if I had an early warning?

Further research indicated that variations of AI-based early warning solutions are being experimented with in the commercial farming arena. But what if you could design a system for suburban backyards? Imagine the market size (that, right there, is a good market sizing problem for those looking for a challenge). The concept is shown in the illustration below.

This setup leverages pre-existing deep learning algorithm capabilities in this domain and incorporates them into an IoT setup. A set of smart cameras (depending on the garden size or the area that needs to be monitored) capture snapshots of plants, their foliage and stems, in specific ways and transmit them to a hub. The hub massages the pictures collected and then uploads them to the cloud.

The frequency can be variable, and the subscription cost of the service will be tied to it. A portfolio of deep learning algorithms can analyze the pictures and provide feedback.

I think there can be a good market for this type of a product. The good aspect is that all technologies, hardware, and software already exist in mature enough form to put together a product like this.

Now…I will go back to researching ways to save my crabapple tree.