Vaavud has taken its funding needs from a successful Kickstarter campaign, to a group of angel investors that put $375,000 into the company. Vaavud uses a smartphone, an app, and a rather low-tech meter (made with two pieces of plastic) to measure wind speed, direction, and more information that can be discovered by tracking which way the wind blows.
The meter itself fits into the 3.5mm earphone jack on a smartphone. The sound from the wind is picked up using the earphone jack, and converted into a windspeed measurement using the app. The app analyzes and collects the data, giving Vaavud readings from the wind around the world. The company is receiving 4000 new measurements per week which is quite a feat considering that it is relying on consumers buying the meter for $50 a pop.
Is anyone interested in wind measurements? You bet they are. Agricultural giant Lantmännen Maskin AB is partners with Vaavud on a project to measure wind speed in Sweden to keep a close eye on crops that are using pesticide. The country has strict new regulations on using the poison with certain crops that are digested by humans.
The combination of low and high tech just might teach us a thing or two about the wind, and could help develop technology in the future that improves our lives.
Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.
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