HexaFrost
Transforming Agricultural Storage for Indian Villages
Hexafrost is a modular cold storage solution designed for rural farming communities.
It enables collective produce storage and real-time monitoring through a simple mobile app—extending shelf life, reducing post-harvest loss, and supporting more sustainable agricultural practices.
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India faces 13% post-harvest losses annually due to inadequate storage solutions.
HexaFrost brings accessible, modular, and IoT-enabled cold storage to rural farmers, empowering them to reduce spoilage and maximize profits
Design Process
EMPATHIZE
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DEFINE
2
IDEATE
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DESIGN
4
Understanding the Problem
Post-Harvest Losses
This section explores the challenges faced by Indian farmers due to inadequate storage facilities, highlighting the scale of post-harvest losses, the impact on perishables, and the need for accessible, localized solutions.
Significant Post-Harvest Losses
India’s farmers lose 13% of produce annually due to inadequate storage.
Perishables Face the Brunt
Perishables like fruits, vegetables and flowers are the most affected.
Storage Accessibility Gap
Limited access to affordable, localized storage exacerbates the problem.
How We Uncovered Insights
To uncover insights into the challenges farmers face and identify opportunities for designing a solution that addresses post-harvest losses.
Primary Research - Contextual Inquiry
Through contextual inquiries at farms and agricultural foundations, combined with semi-structured interviews with farmers and experts, we explored key areas such as crop yields, storage needs, and post-harvest challenges. Using convenience and snowball sampling, we ensured diverse insights to inform a user-centered solution.
Secondary Research – Literature Review
Through systematic literature review, we explored critical factors impacting post-harvest losses, including inadequate infrastructure, climate variability, and limited technology adoption. Using focused keywords and credible sources, we synthesized insights to identify gaps in current solutions and highlight opportunities for accessible cold storage systems tailored to farmers' needs.
Lack of Affordable Storage Solutions
Farmers have limited access to cold storage facilities, especially in remote areas, leading to high post-harvest losses.
Financial Strain Due to Market Volatility
Fluctuating market rates and dependency on middlemen reduce farmers' profit margins, forcing them to sell produce quickly.
Need for Better Knowledge Dissemination
Limited access to agricultural knowledge and new technologies hinders farmers' ability to make informed decisions and improve practices.
Adopting Technology Through Guided Solutions
While farmers face challenges adopting technology, they show willingness to embrace simple, effective solutions when guided appropriately.
Key Research Insights
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Defining the Problem
Clearly defining the problem, based on the research insights, what’s in scope and what’s out of scope.
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How might we reduce post-harvest losses for farmers in rural India by providing accessible, affordable, and efficient cold storage solutions?
Who will be our stakeholders?
Farmers
Vendors
Government
Ideation
Exploring Ideas to Address Farmer Challenges
Brainstorming Sessions
We conducted focused ideation sessions to address the challenges identified in our research. By exploring solutions that prioritized accessibility, affordability, and sustainability, we evaluated multiple concepts, ultimately selecting HexaFrost.
Brainstorming Session 1 - Addressing Current Challenges in Cold Storages
Solar Powered Sustainable Energy
Real-Time Monitoring Smart Storage
Flexible Design for Scalability
Storage as Per Market Prediction
Early Identification to Prevent Crop Loss
Brainstorming Session 2 - Addressing Technical Aspects of Designing Cold Storages
Temperature Range -20° to 10° Celsius
Hexagonal Honeycomb Structure
Green Refrigerants (R-407C, R-404A)
PUF Panels Improved Insulation
Solid State Cooling Technology
Conceptualization
Refining the ideas to come up with a final solution, effectively solving the problem
Portable Mini Cold Storage
Small size for portability and ease of use.
Battery-operated with detachable components.
Suitable for small-scale farmers needing short-term storage.
Limited storage capacity for bulk produce.
Higher dependency on battery life and short-term performance.
HexaFrost
Modular hexagonal units for scalable storage.
Solar-powered system for energy efficiency.
IoT-enabled monitoring for real-time updates on temperature, humidity, and crop conditions.
Suitable for bulk storage and rural accessibility.
Affordable and sustainable with pay-per-use pricing.
Conceptualization Evaluation
Following thorough primary and secondary research along with extensive ideation sessions, we've identified a comprehensive feature set tailored to address the specific needs and requirements of our target users, based on which we rated our concepts.
Each feature has been rated on a scale of 1 to 10 for its effectiveness, with 1 representing the lowest and 10 denoting the highest.
Introducing
HexaFrost
Hexafrost is a cold storage unit that is decentralized, modular, and IoT-enabled. Tailored for every village, the compact design maximizes space and energy efficiency. It is managed by the Gram Panchayat, farmers can monitor yields remotely through mobile app.
What does hexafrost offer?
Decentralized Accessibility
Cold storage units are placed at the village level, reducing transportation costs and delays.
Modular Design
Hexagonal units allow scalability based on farmers' needs.
Sustainable Energy
Solar-powered system ensures energy efficiency and reduces dependency on unreliable electricity.
IoT Integration
Real-time monitoring of temperature, humidity, and ethylene levels with smart alerts sent to farmers.
Automatic & Customizable Storage Settings
Storage conditions can either be set automatically, or be adjusted based on crop type, ensuring optimal preservation.
Affordable Pay-Per-Use Pricing
Flexible pricing makes the solution accessible for small-scale farmers.
Information Architecture
User Interface Design
Onboarding Screens
HexaFrost
Login
Rajiv Kambale
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Choose Your Language
This language will be applied across the app.
English
A
Choose your language preference as English.
मराठी
अ
तुमची भाषा म्हणून मराठी निवडा.
हिंदी
अ
आपकी भाषा के रूप में हिंदी चुनें
A
अ
explore all languages
On-boarding
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Language Selection Screen
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Allows users to set their preferred app language.
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Pre-selected language is highlighted with a checkmark.
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"Explore All Languages" option provides access to additional languages.
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"Proceed" button confirms the selection and moves to the next step.
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Login Screen:
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Users can log in using their username and password.
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Password visibility toggle enhances usability.
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"Forgot Password" link enables users to recover their credentials.
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"Sign Up" button redirects to the registration page for new users.
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Landing Screen:
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Splash screen displays the app logo and branding during startup.
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The logo reinforces the app's visual identity and creates a professional impression.
Farmer’s Screens
Crops Overview
Provides a quick summary of crop health, including the number of healthy, warning, and critical crops.
Crop cards with health indicators
Each card displays the crop name, an image, and its health status indicator (healthy, warning, or critical).
Market Insights Card
Highlights the crop with the best profit margin for the day, based on market trends. Shows gain per kg and the recommended selling price range for the highlighted crop.
Crop Details
Displays the crop name, storage location, and zone for clear identification. Includes storage date, duration, quantity, current health status of the crop and due payment.
Parameter Measures
Monitors environmental conditions like temperature, humidity, ethylene level, and pest movement. Status icons indicate whether each parameter is within safe limits (checkmark, warning, or critical).
Alert Section
Highlights issues like storage unit failure with an actionable button to contact the admin.
Current Market Price Screen
Displays the list of available commodities with corresponding wholesale and retail prices.
Top Vegetables/Fruits Cards
Highlights the top commodities to sell this week with predicted price ranges.
Price Trend Graph & Table
Displays the predicted wholesale rate trends for selected commodities over the next five days, along with tabular information
Notifications and Alerts
Notifications are grouped by date for better organization. Each notification displays the timestamp, date, and message for clarity. Highlighted in red to draw immediate attention to critical issues.
Colour Palette
Calm, natural palette
#5E9169
#C8E1CD
#2E2E2E
#A4A4A4
#C9C9C9
#FEFEFE
English Font: Satoshi
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English Font: Adobe Devanagari
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Learnings & Conclusion
Complex On-Field Problems: Addressing post-harvest losses revealed the complexity of farmers' challenges, requiring adaptable solutions.
User-Centric Design: Designing intuitive, affordable storage solutions for non-tech-savvy farmers is key to adoption and success.
Versatility of Solutions: Solutions designed for farmers can also benefit vendors, increasing their impact.
Sustainability & Future-Proofing: Integrating renewable energy and AI can enhance functionality and long-term relevance.
The initiative tackles post-harvest losses among Indian farmers by offering affordable, user-friendly storage solutions that reduce waste and boost profitability. A digital platform provides real-time market data to help farmers make better decisions and secure higher prices. Future plans include integrating renewable energy and AI to improve functionality and insights.
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