Maps for Smart Irrigation
Company: LUMO | Year Completed : 2023 | Sector: Ag Tech | Role: Lead Product Designer
The Context
Agriculture consumes 70% of the world’s freshwater, a vital resource that is becoming more and more insecure. Lumo goal is to use technology to optimizes productivity and profitability, while radically reducing the amount of freshwater used in agriculture. They brought me on board to tackle their latest feature: maps.
The Problem
Currently, systems for managing and tracking irrigation are outdated and wasteful. Lumo has developed a simple but revolutionary alternative: a SmartValve that growers can install throughout their fields and track usage, monitor for leaks and automate irrigations. Multiple valves can be installed in different field sections (called blocks). Blocks can be named, but even for the most familiar farmer, remembering which block and valve is where can be difficult.
The Solution
Adding the maps feature allows farmers to see where their blocks and valves are located, what their irrigation status is, and even get directions to the exact valve location. I created a valve component with several variants to denote irregular, normal, manual and inactive irrigations, as well as patterns for multiple valves located at the same location. The feature was tested throughout the design process and very well received among clients upon release.
The Process
Working with a distributed team in different timezones means lots of asynchronous collaboration via Confluence docs, Figma comments, Slack messages, Zoom recordings and spontaneous brainstorming sessions when the schedules align. Since LUMO is focused geographically on Napa and Sonoma Valley and I’m based in the southeast, I’d often receive feedback through my product manager. This is how we learned to go with the satellite image map rather than the stripped down grey version below: farmers use landmarks such as trees, sheds, fences and more to help orient them so the satellite view was much more useful.
