One ring to rule them all
When Sprint 5 arrived we started to realise how much time we had left. Not much. That’s why we decided to divide our roles wisely and get done as much as we could. We set up 3 separate goals:
- Have prototyped an improved version of our physical prototype
- Have implemented the designed interface of the app
- Have a working network between the sticks, the main hub and the database
You might remember our Sprint 4 prototypes. This is what they looked like:
The big difference between the two prototypes is that Prototype 1 shows an overview of your garden all in one, while Prototype 2 shows the plant’s health individually which makes you less dependent on the app. Now, we wanted to combine the pro’s of both prototypes in one. The concept will still consist of sticks, a main hub and an application, but the main hub will change. We tested both prototypes, and gathered some interesting findings. First of all, users don’t mind checking their app to see what exactly is going on in their garden. We found out it was difficult to communicate to the user the exact information about your garden and individual plants. Another interesting finding was that people try to connect the colours to the different factors (water, light and temperature). For example, when Prototype 1 turned yellow, users assumed there was something wrong with the light. Users like how the main hub not only communicates their garden’s health, but can also act as an ambient home light.
Our new prototype
After another ideating session, this is what we eventually came up with:
The ring is back! What this main hub shows are the 3 different factors: water, light and temperature. We wanted it to be more than just a green-yellow-red overview of your garden, but less than a super detailed overview of every individual plant. Another reason why we chose to display the 3 different factors, is because temperature and light problems might often occur to more plants. Many potential users we talked to, have limited space to put their plants and would locate their plants in the same space most of the time. Which means that if one of the plants faces problems with temperature or light, chances are big that the problem occurs to more plants.
App Design
Besides the physical prototype, the UI of the app has been designed and implemented. Here’s some of the screens to give you an impression of the style. We created a green, fresh and clean look that goes with the theme of the project.
But… How does it work?
But how is everything working precisely? Let’s take a closer look at the main hub. Inside of the main hub, the Pycom board is located. There is a SIM card attached on the Pycom board. This SIM card is connected to the Vodafone Ziggo network. It makes use of a LTE connection which is used to send all the data from the main hub to the app. This way, the user can see live data of his plants.
But how does the main hub get the data from the plants? For this we use a stick which includes all the sensors we need. It has a moisture, light and temperature sensor attached on it. This stick can be connected to your home wifi network and this way send its data to the main hub.
Final Steps
With only about 2 weeks left, we are focussing on the final changes and the showcase. 23rd of January, at Digital Society School, save the date! For more information: https://digitalsocietyschool.org/ . Our final steps will be:
- Finishing the connection between the sticks, the main hub and the app
- Further develop the app as far as we can
- Create the final, understandable language of light which the product will use to communicate with the user
- Prepare ourselves to shine at the showcase
See you on the 23rd!
The Digital Society School is a growing community of learners, creators and designers who create meaningful impact on society and its global digital transformation. Check us out at digitalsocietyschool.org.
