Introducing Plant Homie 🌱

As part of a Human Centered Design course, the assignment was to prototype a wearable Internet of Things (IoT) device using low-cost and readily available materials. IoT involves embedding sensors and other electronics in common devices found in the physical world and connecting them wirelessly to internet-based services.

General Overview

Design

I first began brainstorming and sketching a couple of IoT ideas. Some ideas revolved around pets and plants. An initial idea was a wearable pet tag and a plant moisture checker.

Initial Sketches & Ideas

The ultimate design ended up being a merge of the two initial ideas — moisture checker and a light source called Plant Homie. I ultimately wanted to design for plants — given that even I tend to forget when and how much water/light to give my plants.

Plant Homie offers an IoT solution for your plant giving you three options:

1. Adding water or light automatically using sensors detecting the soil moisture and root growth
2. Adding water or light through the mobile app
3. Adding water or light using the button manually

The purpose of Plant Homie is to give users flexibility in caring for their plant. Whether you’re at home, traveling, or don’t have time to care for your plant, Plant Homie is there for you!

The goal of this prototype is to allows users the ability to make decisions wherever they are. Users may include first-time plant owners, busy plant owners, and IoT enthusiasts.

Prototype

Most of the prototype was created using a subscription box I had laying around called a CAUSEBOX, because the material was low-fidelity and readily available. As an initial concept, I was more focused on conveying my idea and testing before creating high-fidelity designs.

CAUSEBOX — base material used

The process began with creating the base of Plant Homie. This involved playing with different structures and leveraging existing plant pots. The ultimate base design was constructed with high walls and low sidewalls to support any type of plant regardless of size or height. The high walls allow bigger plants to grow taller while the low sidewalls also allow the plant to grow laterally.

The idea was to allow users to customize their plant type, size, or height by designing a universal base.

After the base was completed and referencing my previous sketches, an adjustable light/water source was added to the base. The light/water structure is designed to stretch across the base to ensure all plants evenly receive light/water. Additionally, the height can be adjustable according to the height of the plants.

Some constraints I faced however was figuring out how to indicate where the water would be stored and how to prototype this. I initially wanted the water storage to be built in the water/light structure, but I struggled to make the structure 3D without it falling apart due to weight and unable to support itself.

Plant Homie Prototype Video

Analysis

Prior to testing, I created testing questions to determine and analyze my results. Testing questions include:

1. What are your initial thoughts on the concept?
2. Would you personally use the product?
3. At any point in the tasks, were you confused?
4. Are there any changes you would make or add?

Success measures include:

1. The ability to complete each task in a timely manner. Turn on/off light and water manually, through the app, and automatically. Adjust the height of the light and water structure.
2. Thoughts on the overall concept.

Here are my initial results after conducting user testing.

Things that worked well:

1. The on/off switch for light and water was easy to use and understand.
2. The overall concept (adding water/light) was easy to understand and straightforward.

Things that needed improvement:

1. A signifier of the adjustable height for the light and water.
2. A clear indicator of sensors for soil moisture and root growth.

The user commented on the ease and simplicity of the prototype and expressed interest in having one themselves.

Conclusion

Overall the effectiveness of the design was indicated through user testing and class critique sessions. The concept was desirable and feasible based on both feedback sessions.

After concluding my testing and gathering feedback, here are a couple of things I would change and learned while creating this prototype.

Changes I would make:

1. Creating a clear indicator of sensors detecting soil moisture and root growth by displaying visible feedback.
2. Creating and displaying a feedback indicator that the mobile app connects successfully to Plant Homie.
3. Adding water storage at the bottom of the base, this will allow the user to attach and detach the storage to fill up with water.

Things I learned:

1. Question every design decision of the prototype — don’t design because it looks nice and works. Design with intent and purpose.
2. Take pictures and document as you go! During the prototyping part, I forgot to take pictures and document my decisions.
3. Sometimes tape is better than glue while prototyping. I learned glue doesn't always do the trick if you’re impatient.