PDF: E0_Poster

PPT: E0_Poster

 

Group: This week, our team focused on testing and validation prior to our final demo. After completing integration with our new sensors last week, we moved into full on testing to validate all parts of our system. This included validating the individual sensors (environmental sensors and indices sensors), transmission over wifi to backend, power drainage, environmental tests for the casing, software and ui testing, as well as full system testing. These were in line with the testing plan we refined after our interim demo as well as the requirements we outlined in the design report. Once wrapping up this, we focused on prepping for the final demo which included creating supplementary materials like the presentation and videos.

Inès: This week we focused on testing. I finalized the case to do environmental test on it such as heavy rain and winds. We also finalized the stand for the device, and some of the decorative aspects of it. I then focused on battery test with Sanjana, which we performed in one day to understand how long our device will be able to perform for, while keeping track of the voltage of the battery throughout the whole process. I then focused on the thermal camera tests, which are analyzing and validating the results found from our CWSI script. We are now preparing the final demo slides and getting everything ready for Monday.

Miffy: This week I focused on finalizing the frontend application and deploying the backend. On the app side, I implemented the remaining features including pop-up alerts for when plant health indices fall outside of healthy thresholds, and trend analysis to help users understand how their plant metrics are changing over time. I also wrote user test stories to validate the app experience from an end-user perspective. On the infrastructure side, I deployed the backend to Render.com and handled real-time bug fixes as issues surfaced during user testing, ensuring the system was stable and ready for the final demo.

Sanjana: This week I focused on testing all of the hardware components I’ve worked on for our project as well as power testing, enclosure testing, and transmission to backend testing along with Ines. For the hardware components, I used a digital thermometer, hygrometer, and IR thermometer in order to verify the accuracy of our BME280 sensor’s functionality for temperature and humidity readings, as well as the thermal camera’s leaf-air temperature readings. Along with the BME280 sensor, I worked on testing the spectroscopy sensor which was a bit more vague of a process. Since we don’t have any quantifiable and exact way to test our indices since that’s the whole point of our sensor, we researched common benchmarks for each index and compared this with the behavior of our sensor. By doing so, we were able to validate that our sensor was working accurately. From there, I also worked with Ines to validate that our power supply was lasting for the right amount of days, data was properly being sent to the backend during the correct time periods even with stress conditions applied, and enclosure testing by verifying our case can withstand environmental conditions like wind and rain.

Group:

This week, the group worked on completing the design report. We worked on our individual parts as we had previously split up. Sanjana was in charge of the first part of the report, including the introduction, use case requirements, and design requirements. Ines and Miffy split up the architecture and system implementation portions with Ines taking the lead on the hardware portions and Miffy taking the lead on the software ones. Additionally, Ines worked on the testing and validation section and Miffy worked on the product management portion. Outside of the design report which took up the majority of our time, Ines and Sanjana worked on getting all the components ordered so that we could jump right into the heavy work after spring break. Coming back, we expect to get working on pin outs and prep so that we are ready to work once our components come in.

Ines:

This week, our team split the design report so that we could all work different sections in parallel. I was responsible for the Hardware architecture, design trade studies, hardware system implementation, and testing and validation. While writing these parts, I conducted  additional research in order to ensure all of our claims were supported by scientific literature and published papers. We also finished our list of hardware components to order, which will allow us to begin assembling and testing the system when we return.

Sanjana:

This week I finished up the design report. Our group has done a lot of research to help back up the choices we have made in our proposal and design presentations so our goal for this report was to try to get as much of this down in writing to help explain our thought processes. While writing the use case and design requirement portions, this was especially important to me. We had chosen all of these requirements very thoroughly and there is clear reasoning behind every choice we made so it was important to me to convey these things through the report. In the previous week, I had compiled all the sources I had been keeping track of so far and picked out the points that I wanted to include from them. This week, I used these sources to build the report and provide thorough reasoning behind each requirement. Other than the report, it was important for us to get all of our components ordered this week. On Monday, Ines and I filled out the sheet with all of the components, and a few days later we submitted the form. Our hope is that these components will be delivered as we arrive back from back so that we can begin our pin out design and assembly.

Miffy:

This week, I focused on completing the software-related sections of the design report and helping finalize the overall document. I wrote the software architecture and software system implementation sections, describing how the different components of the system interact and how the software will support data processing, analysis, and visualization. As part of this work, I designed and drew the full system diagram for the software architecture to clearly illustrate the relationships between the device, backend services, and user interface. I also worked on the product management section of the report to document the project timeline, development planning, and coordination of the different subsystems. In addition to the report writing, I implemented the initial version of the system’s frontend page using React, which will later be used to display the collected sensor data and analysis results. This helped us move from planning toward an early working interface for the system.

Insight into Additional Considerations:

A: Global Factors (Sanjana)

VineHealth’s entire purpose is focused on the consideration of global agricultural challenges, especially on the need for affordable agriculture technologies. Existing solutions for crop monitoring such as drone-based imaging systems or satellite platforms usually require significant investment as well as technical expertise. Even though these systems might work great for large commercial farms, they are not accessible to small-scale vineyards and farmers who might be in developing or resource-limited regions. Our project came from the need for solutions that bypass these financial and technical challenges. We want growers from a wide range of geographic and economic contexts to benefit from data-driven crop management.

Additionally, climate change is a huge issue that is increasingly affecting productivity in agriculture. VineHealth’s application of collecting environmental data allows farmers to view plant stress trends over time and enables them to respond proactively to changing environmental conditions. Our implementation of a wireless, scalable sensing system that provides data visualization through an easy to use mobile interface lets VineHealth be deployed in vineyards and agricultural environments around the world. This will ultimately support farmers who are facing the increasing stresses of climate change, but who may not have access to complex technical infrastructure.

B: Cultural Factors (Miffy)

Our project also considers cultural factors in how technology is adopted in agricultural communities. Many vineyard owners rely on traditional farming practices, so it is important that VineHealth integrates smoothly into existing workflows rather than requiring complex technical knowledge. The system is designed to present information in a clear and accessible way so that growers can easily understand plant health data.

We also consider the diversity of farming communities and varying levels of familiarity with digital tools. For this reason, the user interface focuses on simple visual indicators and intuitive design, allowing users to quickly interpret the data and make informed decisions about crop management.

C: Environmental Factors (Ines)
Our project considers several environmental factors, particularly how our device interacts with the ecosystems and agricultural environments. As our device is used in vineyards, we prioritized minimizing disruption to local wildlife and surrounding ecosystems. The device enclosure and stand will be designed visually to blend into the environment and operate quietly so that it does not disturb or scare away any animals that are crucial for the vineyards health.

In addition, we have taken into consideration various environmental conditions such as rain, win, and outdoor exposure when designing our device. The device is intended to operate under a range of weather conditions, such as light to medium rain and strong winds. As a result, the enclosure has been designed to be both water-proof and wind resistant to ensure consistent operation throughout the various environmental conditions seen in vineyards.

Team E0_Panwar_Maquaire_Liu_design_report

Group:

This week, we finalized the hardware architecture and component selections in preparation for ordering. We advanced the design report by researching and justifying our chosen indices and design requirements using relevant literature, expanding beyond an NDVI-only approach. We also completed and presented our design presentation, reviewed peer presentations, and continued refining the software design and its integration with the hardware. We plan to submit the final report and begin implementation in the coming days.

Ines:

I primarily focused on finalizing the hardware architecture so that we can order the components in the coming days. I also completed a rough draft of the report sections explaining the selected indices and the rationale behind choosing them. In addition, I conducted further research on how vine diseases manifest and the conditions under which they are most prevalent.

 

Sanjana:

This week I worked on finalizing the design report with my group. As Miffy was in charge of our presentation, Ines and I took the lead for our report. We did a lot of research on the initial design requirements and backed them up with research articles in order to justify them. I found some useful articles that helped provide more insight into the other indices that we chose to add in our design presentation. This was very helpful since up till now we were operating on the basis that we were just going to use the NVDI. This helped inform our decisions on where and how to place the device. We plan to submit the report in the next day or so in order to get going on the heavy work. Other than that, this week was a little slow for me. We finalized the components we want to order based on our updates from the design presentation, and are going to order these in the next day or so.

 

Miffy

This week, I completed the presentation slides and delivered our design presentation to the class. I also reviewed and provided feedback on other groups’ presentations. In addition, I continued refining our software system design and worked on integrating the software components with the hardware to ensure smooth communication and functionality.

Group

This week our group worked together to prepare for our design presentation. On Monday, we had our meeting with our course staff to review the feedback that we got from our initial proposal presentation, which was very helpful before moving on to the next part of our project. We spent Monday focused on a lot of the small details that needed to be ironed out prior to the design presentation. We also began finalizing the hardware components that we needed for our device, trying to strategize how to use our budget and decide how many of our devices we could feasibly make. Once we had discussed these preliminary details, we split up the work for the design presentation, Ines and Sanjana taking most of the research to back up the work we already presented in the proposal, and Miffy taking lead on the software portion of the project.

Miffy:

This week, I completed the frontend design for our project, ensuring that the interface is clean, user-friendly, and aligned with our use case requirements. I also finalized the design presentation slides, organizing our problem statement, system architecture, quantitative requirements, and implementation plan clearly and concisely. In addition, I finished preparing for the design presentation by reviewing our technical decisions, refining explanations, and practicing delivery to ensure we can confidently communicate our design choices and answer questions effectively.

Link to presentation slides: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Si-VImtCjxgd-M1Xh7eEwuLIQ57bf04Gz-nYAVE-zok/edit?usp=sharing

Inès:

This week, I worked alongside the group to develop our design presentation. My primary contribution was researching how disease symptoms first appear and identifying how we can detect them effectively. In addition, I conducted in-depth research on the different vegetation indices to better understand their roles and to support our design choices with relevant research papers. I also finalized the selection of all system components and made the block diagram. Here is also i really interesting research paper that explains the most common symptoms for vineyard and what weather conditions cause them: https://agriculture.canada.ca/en/agricultural-production/crop-protection/agricultural-pest-management-resources/identification-guide-major-diseases-grapes

Sanjana:

This week I worked with my group to prepare for our upcoming design presentation. Once we met on Monday to go over the feedback from our proposal, we went over some of the common notes we received from several instructors. This included deciding how exactly we want to position our device, how many of them we will need, how the data collected from the device will actually transmit to the app, etc. Once we had these details ironed out, we could move on to splitting up the work that needed to be done for the design report and presentation. I focused on research to back up the use case and use case requirements portion of our proposal presentation. I also worked on finding research to strengthen the testing and validation portion of our presentation. Finally, I came up with a list of questions that we are sending to Ines’s father who is a vineyard farmer in California, to gain more insight on our project.