Industrial & UX Design

AgroX:
Pest Agriculture Partner.

IMG
1x Gold Award
5x Silver Awards
Indigo Design Award
Product
Hardware & Software
My Role
Researcher, Lead UX, & Industrial Designer
Timeline
Q1 2026
Team
Yuchen Zhang
01 — Primary Research

Shadowing the vanguards of soil.

We spent weeks with 5 small-scale organic farmers. By shadowing their morning patrols, we witnessed the exhausting reality of manual pest identification. Our goal: bridge heritage knowledge with modern precision.

4
Georgia Family Farms
1
SC Farm Visit
Shadowing patrols
Identifying damage
SC Site visit
Farmer Voices
"Sometimes we are just… picking bugs off by hand."
→ Manual labor is the only fallback — a productivity killer.
"If the pest pressure is high, it's a choice between certification and our livelihood."
→ Organic standards create a high-stakes environment during outbreaks.
"Give me the date, crop, and the row. That's all I need."
→ Design Requirement: Radical simplicity and high-context data.
Initial Hypothesis

Pollution & Policy

Initially, we assumed farmers were most worried about policy compliance and soil contamination.

The Field Pivot

The Tactical Battle

In reality, the crisis is the daily, unpredictable battle to protect crops without chemical tools.

02 — The Problem

The invisible toll.

Without synthetic intervention, pests destroy 20–40% of crops annually. By the time a farmer spots a colony during their walk, the damage is already irreversible. We are solving for Early Detection — turning a reactive struggle into a proactive system.

Crop Loss
20–40%
Systemic Gap
Zero historical outbreak data currently recorded.
03 — Target User

Design for muddy hands.

"I want something that just works. I don't have time for another complicated app."

How Might We

Help organic farmers monitor pests with zero friction while remaining 100% eco-compliant?

Core Objectives
  • High-contrast visual monitoring
  • One-tap physical intervention
  • Zero-training intuitive UI
04 — Technical Strategy

Evaluating concepts.

We analyzed literature for scientifically viable, organically safe interventions. We narrowed six concepts into three based on field feasibility and scalability.

Visual Tracking
Partially Selected
Low-power computer vision for early identification.
Physical Suction
Selected
Autonomous vacuum for broad-spectrum organic control.
Attraction Grids
Narrowed Out
Too species-specific. Failed field scalability.
Precision Strike
Narrowed Out
Robotic arm. High precision but too slow for farm yield.
Seedling Chamber
Merged
Absorbed into final SteamSoil module.
Soil Sterilization
Selected
Sub-surface steam injection to break the pest lifecycle.
05 — Architecture

Logical Flow.

HOME PAGE
Data
Map
- Pest Map
- Thermo Map
- Vacuum Map
Task
- Task 1
- Task 2
- Task 3
- New Task
Report Chart
- Week Report
- Prediction
Device
Thermo
- Status
- Connection
- Map
Vacuum
- Status
- Connection
- Map
Camera
- Camera 1
- Camera 2
- Camera 3
Engine
- Maintenance
- Status
- Remote Control
Setting
- Map Setting
- General Preferences
- System Management
- Device Setup
Feature 1

Autonomous Management

Set specific coverage zones directly on the iPad, handling the labor-intensive patrols independently.

Feature 2

Visual Pest Mapping

Advanced optics generate a dynamic density map, pinpointing hotspots before they spread.

Feature 3

Non-Invasive Suction

Clean physical removal. No chemicals, no crop contact, and zero toxic runoff.

Feature 4

Thermal Protection

Precision steam sterilizes threats at the root, breaks the underground lifecycle permanently.

06 — Final Deliverables

App Hi-Fi Showcase & Process.

Hardware Functional Zones