Industrial Design Thesis
Self-Sustainable Greenhouse.
Overview
Rose growers in Bogota, Colombia (South America) lose their production due to the rudimentary and manual way of controlling the temperature and humidity of greenhouses. To prevent this from happening, growers have to stay up all night to make sure temperatures don't go below 0°C. When temperatures drop below 0°C they have to walk through multiple and large greenhouses to manually turn ON heating torches. Once the desired temperature is reached, they then have to manually turn OFF the torches. The same process happens with fans and vents to cool the greenhouses and increase air flow.
As a result of the manual labor and lack of tracking and control, they lose crops. Growers are often exhausted because of the lack of sleep and stress. After all flowers are cut, the residues are discarded and tossed in the garbage.
Solution
A smart weather detecting device to help growers living in greenhouses that are located in cold or warm climates.
The device is designed to help the growers use their resources in an efficient and self-sustaining way to save time, money, energy, and help the environment.
This project was developed as a multidisciplinary thesis. It was developed by myself (Industrial Designer) and 2 graduating students of Electrical Engineering.
I designed the device - interface, interactions, look and feel, colors, ergonomic | human factors, materials, production specifications, instructions and use cases.
I worked with Engineers to meet specifications, sizes, uses and flows.
As a result of this project, I was asked to develop it into a real business by representatives of the Government.
Steps
Define the main problems faced by the flower growers
Interviews and user research to find out more about current solutions, current providers, common issues, processes, and troubleshooting, etc
Define the design parameters required for the device and system
Define the engineering parameters required for the device and system
Work in conjunction with engineers, flower growers, advisors and other stakeholders to develop realistic and innovative solutions
Build working prototypes and manuals for testing
User testing of the device/system and make changes using the results found
Iterate and make changes to improve and provide real solutions to the user
Final thesis and project proposal submitted and presented to judges
Process
The device detects the greenhouse temperature and humidity
The device turns ON the greenhouse heaters when temperatures go below 0°C
The device also turns ON fans to cool down the greenhouse when temperatures go above the desired range
The device turns OFF heaters or fans when the desired temperature is reached
The flowers are cut and prepared for export
The flower left-overs are stored in a special chamber to produce propane
The propane obtained from the flowers is used by the heaters/fans to warm up/cool down the green house creating a self-sustaining system
The device stores and tracks the data through time. It also learns about the user behaviors and adapts to season changes
