Once set up, setup goes much like the Aiper and is more expensive Irrigreen Apps: You create a zone, then use the app to define its boundaries. Similar to the aforementioned systems, Oto’s sprinkler is designed for precision watering, projecting water in a beam in a single direction instead of a wide spray. That said, Oto’s spray is relatively narrow, hitting only a single designated area instead of producing a two-dimensional curtain of water like Irrigreen’s “water print” system. You get a nice glimpse of this when you define the boundaries of your yard.
Like its competitors, Oto lets you define each zone as a spot (for watering a single tree, perhaps), a line (for a flower bed), or a 2D zone (for a yard). I tested all of these modes but spent most of my time working with zones, which are the most complex option. When setting a zone, I found Oto’s system to be virtually identical to Irrigreen and Aiper, although slightly slower to respond to commands. Despite this, it is very simple to use: a simple interface allows you to drop points around the sprinkler to define the boundaries of the area. When you have made a complete circle around the sprinkler, the area is complete.
Once set up, you can assign each zone a schedule, with many options available around which days to water (odd days, even days, certain days of the week, every day) and designate a start time (although there is no time tied to sunset or sunrise). Each program also has a weekly watering limit (in inches of depth), which you will then analyze during each week’s watering. Weather intelligence features let you choose not to water if your zip code receives measurable precipitation or if winds are strong (both based on internet reports); the user can change both the amount of rain and the wind speed needed to trigger a jump. The app tracks the 20 most recent races and includes a calendar detailing upcoming events.
When watering an area, Oto takes a new approach to covering the lawn, first moving in arcs directly around the sprinkler, then slowly increasing the range with each successive stroke. When finished, it makes additional “cleaning” runs to reach any areas that the initial watering arcs did not reach. The speed is slow enough and the size of the water beam is large enough that the resulting coverage is solid. After testing, I found the yard to be very damp throughout the entire area, with no dry spots.
As with all sprinklers, changes in water pressure can cause areas to occasionally over or under water, but I found this to be a minimal issue when using the Oto. However, when watering at the end of the Oto Massif, the power required to throw the water that far can cause a heavy splash, which can lead to some soil erosion or damage to more sensitive plants.
The Oto also has a ‘play mode’ option which allows you to use the sprinkler for a game of water chase or a more random ‘splash tag’ mode, i.e. ‘try to avoid getting hit by the water’. Pro tip: It’s impossible not to get hit.
