TL;DR
The Myco Mushroom Harvester farming equipment is designed to reduce Shiitake mushroom harvesting time by 83.33% while improving the current quality of work for farm workers.
Role: Lead UX Researcher, Product Designer, Project Manager
Team: 5 Product Research + Designers, 2 Mechanical Engineers
Duration: 4 months (Sept - Dec 2022)
Context: Class Project (Idea to Product class @ UT)
My Contributions
Was involved in each stage of the design process from research to testing.
Led the Research phase (User and Market Research) to identify market problems and user pain points.
Collaborated with engineers to ideate product solutions and coordinated project timelines for developing the product prototype (proof-of-concept).
Background
Context
This project was undertaken as a part of my design studio course - 'Idea to Product' offered by the School of Design and Creative Technologies at UT.
Tools Used
Cura - 3D printing
Figma - Ideation
InVision - Research analysis
Procreate - Prototype sketching
Retina Engrave - Laser printing
Solidworks - CAD
TinkerCAD - 3D modeling
Prompt
Design a functional prototype of an economically viable product as a solution to a well-understood problem.
Deliverable
A proof of concept (physical prototype) to be presented to a panel of product development industry experts.
Chosen Project Area
Agriculture, particularly mushroom farming, is a common interest for all of us. Mushrooms are sustainably grown and highly nutritious.
Understanding the Problem
10-20% of mushrooms produced each week are left unharvested, equating to millions of dollars of produce going to waste during a mushroom shortage.
Why? The mushroom industry faces a labor shortage of 20-25%.
In a market where about half of all mushroom farm workers are undocumented immigrants, guest worker visas, like the H-2A program of US labor visas, are not inclusive of mushroom workers because they have year-round production.
I started with secondary research to identify the different stakeholders within the mushroom farming ecosystem and the mushroom production lifecycle itself to familiarise myself with this particular industry.
Then, I set up interviews with different farm owners who were enthusiastic to meet with me and my team to share their insights.
I also visited a local farm in Austin, Texas along with my team to learn about farm operations around harvesting and to speak to the workers first-hand.
The Key Insights that helped us move forward in the design process -
Farming process is labor-intensive, especially during the initial set-up and harvest periods.
Workers harvesting mushrooms work in cold conditions (as low as 61°F) for extended periods.
Wastage in a farm can occur due to harvesting mishaps or unharvested overgrown mushrooms.
Shiitake mushroom harvesting is one of the most time consuming (12 times slower than other specialty mushrooms)
Workers use scissors to harvest some types of mushrooms and experience fatigue and hand numbness during harvesting.
Appearance is crucial for customer satisfaction; mushrooms bruise easily and should be handled carefully.
A significant discovery at the end of our research phase is the primary research contradicted our secondary research data.
None of the farm reported a labour shortage impacting their harvesting practices; instead, they identified wastage as a major problem.
Based on this new information, we modified our project problem from solving harvesting problems for farm owners to enhancing the quality of work for farm workers.
Brainstorming and Prototyping
To tackle the problem of harvesting, and considering the requirements of our class, I along with my team decided to focus on designing solutions that are -
Useful for small-scale mushroom farms since they cannot afford expensive infrastructure
Seamlessly integratable into current infrastructure.
Designed for specialty mushroom harvesting, as it's the most time-consuming and underdeveloped area.
I dissected the existing harvesting process into granular steps -
Researched methods used for harvesting other densely grown produce
Explored various techniques for cleanly detaching plant parts
Reconsidered the growing mechanism (such as controlling mushroom growth direction through a controlled light source) to diversify my idea pool.
As a team, we sketched over 100 prototype ideas prioritizing quantity over quality…
..critiqued each other’s ideas to identify features that we liked and resonated with, and narrowed down our potential solutions to the below 6.
We then divided into teams and constructed each of these prototypes using craft supplies to think through each of these ideas and tie it back to our focus area. This helped with -
Identifying the complexity of each solution
How it can be integrated into existing infrastructure
How expensive it is might be
I created a concept scoring chart to evaluate and rank our chosen prototypes. I picked the selection criteria based on my interviews with different farm owners. I also researched the different hardware product and design principles to guide this process.
The Mushroom log harvester ranked the highest and is the most helpful equipment considering the value it provides for its cost. It is:
Easy to use and maintains produce appearance.
Reduces harvesting time.
Integratable into current infrastructure.
Final Prototype - Proof of Concept
I led the research and actively participated in the ideation phase of the project. For this part, the mechanical engineers in my team took over building the proof-of-concept, which is a functioning prototype of the Mushroom log cutter.
3D Printing and Laser Cutting the parts ->
Assembling the parts ->
Final Product ->
Result and Impact
Current Process
It takes 6 minutes to harvest each log by hand.
Workers endure cold temperatures for prolonged hours, leading to hand fatigue post-harvest that could have long-term health impacts.
New Process (Proof of Concept)
It only takes 1 minute to harvest each log.
This reduces the harvesting time spent in grow rooms by 83.33% and automates the harvesting process, thereby reducing the need for manual labor.
Product Journey
I designed this journey map to visualize how the product would integrate into the operations of a typical mushroom farm.
The stakeholders involved include those who purchase, use, and maintain the product, illustrating how they interact with it.
Future Design (Minimum Viable Product)
I then sketched and designed the next version of our prototype using TinkerCAD, aiming to bring it closer to becoming a commercially viable product.
Storyboard
Storyboarding the exact user flow of a farm worker helped me analyze the product better and think through questions like:
Is there any functionality hindering its usability for the farm worker?
How can we ensure the product is safe to prevent any injuries to the user?
Does the machine cause any fatigue to the user?
Are there any repetitive movements that can be eliminated to enhance efficiency?
How would the user stop using the harvesting machine (end/offboarding)?
What happens to the output (mushrooms), and is there a way to integrate this product into existing systems?
Reflection and Future Work
Project End Point
We pitched our product and presented our proof-of-concept (functional prototype) to a panel of Product Design industry specialists in the Idea-to-Product competition at the School of Design and Creative Technologies at UT Austin. Our project was granted funding to develop the MVP version.
Future Iterations
Mushrooms were being cut effectively, but are being flung tangentially which makes it difficult to collect them and affects product appearance. The blade and its rotation needs to be refined.
In the current model, the blade is exposed and can injure the operator. Proposed solutions -
Installing a guard around the blade.
Implementing a mechanism where both hands must be on handles to start the machine, and the blade stops immediately when hands are lifted, thus preventing worker injuries near the blade even if they approach impulsively.
Designing a mobile platform for the log, eliminating the need for the operator to manually push the heavy log through the circular blade cavity. The operator can place the log on the platform, and it will push the log through the cavity for them.
Creating a collection mechanism for the mushrooms to catch and collect them. This mechanism can eventually be integrated with the farm's existing sorting mechanisms, if any.
Future Iterations
Building and testing the desirability of our Minimum Viable Product (MVP) among farm owners and workers to initiate the iteration process.
Determining the market size and commercial viability (profitability) of the Mushroom Log Harvester. This is crucial as reports of worker shortage in the mushroom industry were not consistent with opinions gathered in our interviews with farm owners.
My Reflections
I thoroughly enjoyed working on this project, especially given my background in hydroponic farming and strong interest in agriculture. Additionally, it provided me with the opportunity to learn how to grow mushrooms at home, which was AWESOME!
What went well?
My teammates and I could play our strengths and take lead at different stages of the project - which helped us stay on track. Our team had an amazing mix of skills ranging from research, design, engineering, and management.
Our time management and decision making skills as a team also worked well. We were able to take decisions based on the information we had available at each point to move forward.
What could have been better?
While our solution automates a portion of the mushroom industry that has seen little recent innovation, the market demand for this machine may not be large enough for it to be economically viable. Given our tight timeline, we did well. However, to continue this project, I would assess its business viability and gather feedback from farm workers and owners to test desirability before making further product design improvements.
My Team
(from left to right)
Brianna - UX Researcher
Ananya G M - Researcher and Product Designer
Jyotsna Vempati - Lead Researcher & Product Designer (me!)
Madhav Varma - Product Designer
Mariyah - Mechanical Engineer
Wanlun Ding - UX Designer
Devan Dholakia - Mechanical Engineer (not in picture)
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