Christian Hirsch from Vienna has always liked spending his spare time with electrical and electrotechnical projects. His newest invention was a sensor-based control for a beer brewing facility. But his biggest passion is his company digidrip, a company that offers innovative irrigation systems.
“I grew up in Lower Austria, but my studies brought me to Vienna,” says Christian Hirsch, looking back at his career. “I studied computer sciences at the Technical University of Vienna and received my diploma in 2015.” The now 36-year-old stayed at the university and became a project assistant – among other things in an EU-wide smart farming project that is researching sensor networks and Internet of Things technologies for agriculture.
Another impulse came from his private live. Christian Hirsch tells: “My wife and I have a beautiful flat in Vienna – several years ago, I started cultivating some vegetables and other plants on our patio. Watering the plants was very laborious in summer. And whenever we were out of town, we had to ask the neighbours for help.” The only remedy: an automatic irrigation system. But the computer scientist was not happy with the available solutions, so without further ado, he developed his own irrigation system.
The product, called digidrip, is a self-sufficient and sensor-controlled irrigation system. Due to its solar cells and battery power, combined with modern data transfer technologies, it can be used anywhere – even when neither power supply nor Internet connection is available. The only thing that is required is a water supply.
The sensor in digidrip plays a crucial role. It measures the humidity of the soil and can thus adjust the irrigation to the needs of the plant. If the soil is already moist enough (due to rainfall or low temperatures), the system will reduce the irrigation. If it is hot and dry, it uses more water. This means that you can save water, because the system uses as little water as possible, but at the same time, the plants receive the exact amount of water they need for optimal growth.
Christian Hirsch is very much looking forward to participating at GaLaBau in Nuremberg for the first time. “I am anxious to present digidrip to a broad professional audience. Exchanging ideas with landscape gardeners and representatives of local authorities will surely be very interesting and I hope that the conversations may lead to some cooperations.”
digidrip is one of the exhibitors of the International Start-up Area. This area is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action and can be found in Hall 3C. NürnbergMesse offers companies in the International StartUp Area special conditions for participating in GaLaBau, the leading International Trade Fair for Urban Green and Open Spaces (www.galabau-messe.com/en). The fair takes place from 11 – 14 September 2024.
