Our Solution
In partnership with Microsoft FarmBeats, we developed a comprehensive platform that not only automates crop recognition and health monitoring but also provides a mobile app for immediate, actionable real-time data directly in the field. Our primary challenge is to design an end-to-end system that simplifies complex analytics, making it accessible and actionable to enhance decision-making and boost agricultural productivity.
OVERVEIW
The Problem
Farmers and agronomists face significant challenges in efficiently managing crop health and productivity due to a lack of real-time data and automated tools.
Current methodologies for monitoring crops are predominantly manual, time-consuming, and prone to human error, leading to delayed responses to critical issues such as disease, pests, and suboptimal growth rates.
User Research
We used 3 user research methods to find out the current challenges with farmers and agronomists, their pain points, and goals.
Research Methods:
Secondary Research
Reviewed over 20 articles to analyze existing challenges and technological advancements in agriculture.
4 Qualitative Research
Conducted four 30-minute semi-structured interviews to identify constraints in users’ current user experience.
20 Quantitative Research
Administered surveys to farmers to uncover users’ pain points and validate insights derived from prior research.
My Role
UX/UI Design
UX Research
Duration
8 weeks
Mar 2024
Tools
Figma,
Adobe Illustrator
ChatGPT
Team
Xinran Cheng
Grace Rao
Design Process
Empathize
User research
Competitive analysis
Define
Pain points
Design goal
Persona
User journey map
Ideate
Brainstorm
User flow
Information architecture
Design
Wireframes
Design system
Prototype
Test
Usability testing
Empathy Stage
Definition Stage
Pain points
Based on our analysis of user research results and competitors, we have identified 3 major pain points in the current agricultural sector.
PAIN POINT 1:
Insufficient Monitoring of Growth Rates:
Farmers often struggle to accurately assess the growth speed and stages of crops, which is crucial for determining optimal times for fertilization and irrigation. Lack of real-time and precise growth data can lead to resource wastage and suboptimal yields.
PAIN POINT 2:
Difficulty in Early Detection of Diseases and Pests:
Farmers typically fail to detect early signs of pest infestations and diseases until significant damage is apparent. This delay in detection makes it difficult to apply control measures in a timely manner, potentially leading to severe crop losses.
PAIN POINT 3:
Challenges in implementing agricultural operations in time:
The absence of technology that provides real-time feedback on crop health status hinders farmers' ability to implement agricultural operations in time and make swift adjustments in response to environmental changes or physiological issues in plants. This information gap limits the ability to take preventative measures, increasing the risk of crop failure.
Design Goal
Leveraging our research insights, we established 4 design goals to effectively address users' needs.
Proactive Monitoring and Alert
Develop a mobile app with AI tools to detect early signs of diseases and pests, providing timely alerts and recommendations.
Integrated Real-Time Data Platform
Combine IoT sensors, satellite imagery, soil sensors, weather stations, and plant health monitors into a single platform for real-time crop growth and health data.
Comprehensive Decision Support System
Designed an intuitive crop management dashboard, integrating data analytics and historical tracking to enhance decision-making.
Automated Task Management
Implement an IoT-based system to automatically record agricultural operations, track activities, and manage tasks efficiently.
Competitive Analysis
To better understand the design scope, we experimented with 5 applications similar to the idea to learn about the available features and how to improve the current user experience.
Persona
To fully understand the needs and expectations of users, we created three personas representing three groups of our target users. These personas were developed to take users’ needs and expectations into the design based on user experience.
Persona 1
Persona 2
Persona 3
Brainstorm
After understand the needs and expectations of users, our team brainstormed together to generate as many solutions as possible to the problems.
Ideation Stage
User Flow
After brainstorming, we made choices of about which ones will be pursue as prototypes, and began to illustrate how users will interact with the application.
Information Architecture
Using information architecture to arrange the design features on the app’s interface, ensuring that the user interface is hierarchicaly structured, enabling users to navigate the app with ease and efficiency.
User journey map
To understand users’ needs and identify potential opportunities, we created a user journey map for Ethen. This map illustrates Ethen’s entire experience with monitoring his fields, highlighting how the FarmBeats app addresses his challenges and improves his farm management.
Design system
These are the font, colors, icons and grid used in the app’s design, and we also designed the key components. This design system is the foundation for the visual and functional consistency of the entire application, also aligns the user interface with our brand identity
Wireframes
After arranging the features in the application interfaces, we focused on low-fidelity wireframes to visualize the applications’s core structure and interfaces layout, allowing us to prioritize features and plan user interactions.
Design Stage
Dashboard
Task
Sensor
More
Dashboard
Task
Sensor
More
Dashboard
Task
Sensor
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Dashboard
Task
Sensor
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Dashboard
Task
Sensor
More
1
1
1
1
Navigation bar
Header
Section Header
Button
Search bar
List Item
Progress bar
Calendar
Toggles
Checkbox
Save button
Search
Search
Cancel
10%
20%
40%
60%
90%
0
20%
100
0
50%
100
0
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100
Crops Selection
Crops Selection
All
Favorite
Recently
All
Favorite
Recently
button
button
button
button
Content
Content
Content
Start new Chat
Start chatting!
S
31
M
1
T
2
W
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T
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F
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Components
Tags
Divider
Map
TO-DO
DONE
BUG
WATER
TO-DO
DONE
BUG
WATER
Connected
Disconnected
Field 01
Wheat
Connected
Disconnected
Field 01
Wheat
Cards
Ai Suggestions
Task List
Pest and disease detection
See More
Detect Aphids and Wheat Stem Sawfly, Immediate action is recommended to be taken as soon as pos...
Planting suggestion
See More
Currently in the tillering stage, ensure adequate nitrogen fertilizer application to support healthy till...
Aphids:
See More
Introduce natural predators like ladybugs.
Use insecticidal soaps or neem oil.
Implement crop rotation to disrupt aphid to lay ...
Record the height of the corn growing
Farm 03
Measurement
Record the height of the corn growing
Farm 03
Measurement
Fertilizing the blueberry yard
Farm 08
Fertilization
Field number
Crop name
60%
TO-DO
BUG
WATER
Field number
Crop name
60%
TO-DO
BUG
WATER
Field number
Crop name
60%
DONE
BUG
WATER
11:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Height Increase: 0.12 in
Record the height of the corn growing
Farm 03
Measurement
Record the height of the corn growing
Farm 03
Measurement
Sensor 01
Raspberry Pi camera module V2-8
Field 01
Wheat
Connected
Sensor 01
Raspberry Pi camera module V2-8
Field 01
Wheat
Connected
Sensor 01
Raspberry Pi camera module V2-8
Field 01
Wheat
Disconnected
my takeaways
Collaboration with diverse industry teams played a significant role in the FarmBeats project. I engaged close communication with diverse teams, ensuring solutions innovative and functional, and get insights into the practical needs of farmers from the research team working in field.
Adopted Microsoft's design system as the foundation for our UI/UX. This allowed a consistency across all user interfaces under a mature design system, while also organizing colors, components, in a way that reflected the unique identity of FarmBeats.
Not only focused on designing a mobile prototype but also developing an end-to-end IoT system. This included deploying a machine learning model and code for collecting data on cloud, delivering our project to real-world use.
General Insights:
Theme 1: Crops growth status monitoring
Users find that identifying the precise growth stage of their crops is challenging, which can significantly influence yield.
Users said that real-time nutrient monitoring can lead to a 15% increase in crop yield.
Theme 2: Pest and disease detection
Users respond that disease and pests are responsible for destroying up to 40% of crop production each year and causing economic losses.
Users report significant concerns about the impact of diseases and pests on their crops.
Theme 3: Agricultural tasks management
Users struggle with timing agricultural operations like irrigation and fertilization, leading to yield reductions of up to 50% if mistimed.
Users report significant concerns about the impact of diseases and pests on their crops.
Final Design
Finally here are the full app interfaces, bringing together all the insights, feedback, and iterations from the earlier stages.
Crops Dashboard
The Crops Dashboard shows the data of each crop collected from field. Users can switch to the map view to see field zones and crop distribution. The dashboard provides key metrics, including crop progress, health, and task status, allowing users to track multiple fields at a glance and efficiently manage.
Agricultural
To-do Task Page
To-do Task Page enables users to view and manage tasks across different fields. It organizes daily tasks into unified classification, such as watering and fertilization. Each task includes detailed information like the field location, task type, and progress. Users can add new tasks, set reminders, and receive AI suggestions for tasks.
Sensors Dashboards
The Sensors Dashboard shows the information of each sensors. Users can switch to the map view to see field zones and sensors distribution. The dashboard provides key metrics, including crop progress, health, and task status, allowing users to track multiple fields at a glance and efficiently manage.
Sensors Detail Info Page
The crops dashboard displays the connection status and information of each sensor deployed in the fields. Users can switch to the map view to see the distribution of sensors across field zones. Users can quickly assess sensor performance.
AI Chatbot
The AI Chatbot serves as an intelligent assistant for users, offering personalized advice and recommendations based on the selected fields, tasks, or sensors. Designed as a floating button on every page, AI power is also embedded into many features throughout the app, enabling real-time analysis and responses
Crops Deail Info Page
The Crop Detail page provides detailed information of selected field's. Users can monitor the crop's growth process, enviromental conditions and crops health by data collected from different sensors. Users can click on each topic to view more detailed information. Operation tasks and AI-generated suggestions are highlighted for effective crop management.