Seed Virtual
For the capstone project of my undergraduate degree, we worked with Rogers Communication to help them explore the possibilities of digital twin technology and where it can be implemented. We were given the freedom to choose any topic that could benefit from this technology and our group decided to focus on the agriculture industry. Through extensive research we realised that digital twin technology could help propel the industry to another level.
My Role
In this project I was a UI designer and doing secondary research on our users and the industry we were making our solution for.
Research/Problem Identification
Greenhouse owners and operators, ranging from large corporations to smaller-scale ventures, encounter difficulties in enhancing crop yields, reducing costs, and ensuring efficient management due to a lack of real-time data and management tools. To address these challenges, SeedVirtual conducted user interviews, revealing concerns about greenhouse management and efficiency. This led to the formulation of the problem statement:
"How might we implement digital twins for greenhouse owners to optimize their yields and reduce costs while providing top-notch management capabilities?"
Our Solution
our solution was a digital twin software offering three core components: plan, manage, and predict. The plan feature enables users to design and visualize their greenhouse in a 3D model, reducing future risks. The management section utilizes real-time sensor data for monitoring, while the predict feature uses algorithms to anticipate risks and provide optimal action plans. Although there were other companies that offered a digital twin service, they had limitations such as only offering one of the three features we were including or simply having a confusing UI.
User Flow
With our application dealing with 3 different stages in the agriculture process we made a separate user flow for each of these main stages to get a better idea of what we needed to include in our application. With the amount of information we needed to include for each component, the user flows gave us a good insight into how we would design our prototype in a way where the user would not be lost or confused.
Wireframing
Using the knowledge we had gained from user flows, we started to create low fidelity wireframes, we first focused on a single user flow and once one was done we would move on to the next. Once the important flows were created we then began to include other components in to make our application more cohesive. The wireframe helped us see how the layout of the app would look and see if there was any changes needed before we proceeded with prototype. We wanted to make sure that information was presented in a neat and organized way so that users would be able to find what they needed quickly
Prototyping
After completing our wireframes and making and necessary edits, we moved on to prototyping our product. As part of the design team we divided each the frames equally amongst each other and were required to turn the low fidelity wire frames into high fidelity prototypes on figma.
Our homepage was one of the most important parts of our application, at the forefront was the digital twin of the user’s warehouse and on the side was a quick overview of important dates and activities of the greenhouse that the user should know, when clicked on these widgets it would lead to a page with further detail on the subject.
Our goal with this application was to improve our user’s work flow so it became imperative that we were presenting information in an organised manner through information hierarchy so that the user is not confused. To emphasis important data that users would want to know we created visual representations using graphics, this made the UI look more clean and drew the attention of the user to the exact information they are looking for.
The Final Product
This capstone project presented a new type of challenge for me. In projects past we were presented with an issue and we had to create a solution but in the case of this project, we were given the solution and asked to find a problem that made use of that solution the best. This challenged me to approach this project from a different angle by researching digital twin technology and varying industries to see which ones could benefit from it. Researching about digital twin technology enchanced my researching skills as I needed to know what this technology can and cannot do so that the product we made was feasible.
Our digital twin software, comprising planning, management, and prediction components, showcased the potential to optimize crop yields, reduce costs, and enhance greenhouse efficiency. The project emphasized the importance of thorough research, user-centered design, and collaboration with real-world clients. It served as a testament to the transformative power of UX design and technology in addressing complex industry challenges and equipped me with valuable insights for future design endeavors.