PestX & AgroTrace: Designing a Product-Service System for Precision Agriculture
A complete Product-Service System that integrates an autonomous hardware robot, a data-driven mobile application, and an innovative rental service.
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Overview
Role:
Lead Product & Systems Designer (Hardware, Software, Service)
Tools:
Blender, SolidWorks, Arduino, Figma
Conventional spraying methods often result in wastage of pesticides, as they are not precisely targeted, leading to unnecessary expenses and environmental impacts.
By recognizing and addressing these issues, our innovative rental service with automated guided sprayer provides a solution that tackles these challenges head-on, offering a more efficient, precise, and traceable approach to pesticide application in greenhouse farming.
Discovery & Research
The Usage of Pesticide
Current condition of the dendrobium industry.
Excessive pesticide use
Highly toxic as well as banned pesticides are detected from time to time: Angelica dahurica, Bayberry and other 12 kinds of Chinese herbal medicines are detected with the highly toxic pesticide chlorpyrifos...
Deplorable economic losses
Qingzhou He Guan Town, Shandong province, after the emergence of viral disease symptoms: the middle and lower old leaves appeared mottled, loss of green and other abnormalities, a number of plantings are plucked out of the greenhouse...
To understand the real-world complexities, our team conducted on-site research at the Zhejiang Fengkang Group's dendrobium farm. →
On-site Research
Zhejiang Fengkang Group Co., Ltd, located at southeast region of China, is a leader in the dendrobium industry.
After analysing behaviour assumptions, 4 aspects, colour-coded as below, assumptions were further collected and evaluated. An action plan was also built to resolve high-risk and uncertain ideas. After research, those assumptions will be moved to other quadrants.
User Research
Dendrobium planting base manager
Mr. Zhao
Interview Quote
"Boosting yield is our number-one game plan here"
"Ensuring zero pesticide residue in our final product"
Maximize yield
0 pesticide residue
Current Spaying Plan
The process of manual spaying
Pest and Test
Tetranychidae
*Tetranychidae prefer hot and dry conditions.
They suck the plant sap, causing the leaves to appear yellow or die.
Snail
*Snails are primarily nocturnal pests that prefer to live in moist environments and will nibble on plant leaves and stems.
Afterwork
Record pesticide dosage and spraying time.
The spraying process affects whether or not the final product can pass inspection.
Through interviews with the base manager, Mr. Zhao, and observation of the manual spraying process, we identified a critical conflict: the need to maximize yield was directly at odds with the need to guarantee zero pesticide residue. The existing manual process was imprecise, inefficient, and left no reliable data trail, making it impossible to optimize.
ideation
Needs : A Typical Process of Pesticide Application
Preparation
(loading of drugs, overall deployments)
The process of loading pesticides needs to be simple and efficient, without complicated procedures.
Spray Pattern Mapping
(start, end, path planning)
The spraying process should be efficient to meet production schedules and crop health needs.
Ability to quickly adjust spray paths based on field conditions such as weather, crop growth, etc.
Pesticide Application
(site coverage, spraying effect)
Ensures that the entire farmland is evenly and completely covered, avoiding areas of missed or repeated spraying.
Ensure the safety of workers, machines and crops during spraying to prevent accidents.
Afterwork
(documenting, cleaning and downtime maintainance)
Ensure that detailed data from each spraying is recorded for traceability and quality control.
Ensure that equipment is properly cleaned and maintained after use to prolong its life and keep it in optimum condition.
Competitor Analysis
Final Structure Plan
Introducing pestx
The power of PestX & AgroTrace lies in the integration of three core pillars: Hardware, Software, and Service.
Hardware Specification
Prototype Video
How PESTX runs a typical service:
AgroTrace
Product undergoes a complex testing process to be certified organic.
During a service, these data will be recorded in AgroTrace:
Date & Time
Cover Area
Pesticide & Dosage
A standardized spraying process
↓
Faster, more targeted testing processes
VS
To see service blueprint, app design and more details…
THANKS FOR WATCHING.