*By Max Godnick*
The Internet of Things now extends to your front lawn.
Rachio has developed a WiFi-enabled control for outdoor sprinklers that lets homeowners control with a smartphone app how much water their irrigation system uses.
"Most homeowners don't actually know how much they're supposed to water and when they're supposed to water," said Chris Klein, the company's co-founder and CEO.
He said Wednesday in an interview with Cheddar that the system, launched in 2014, "provides an interface for consumers to achieve sustainable water use in an effortless way."
"We've saved about 28 billion gallons to date," Klein said about the company's customer network.
In March, Rachio raised around $10 million in a Series B round of funding. Klein said the company wants to move out of the yard and indoors.
"You will see us expand into the home," he said.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/the-internet-of-things-comes-to-the-front-lawn).
Threatened by possible shortages of lithium for electric car batteries, automakers are racing to lock in supplies of the once-obscure “white gold” in a politically and environmentally fraught competition from China to Nevada to Chile.
U.S. states could face some hurdles as they experiment with road usage charging programs aimed at one day replacing motor fuel taxes, which are generating less each year, in part due to fuel efficiency and the rise of electric cars.
