Plant Buddy

Plant Buddy

Team members

Lee Jia Juen (EPD), Wee Jian Hui Kevin (EPD), Marc Choo Jun Jie (EPD), Ang You Shan (EPD), Lim Ping An Benjamin (ISTD), Lee Hang Wee (ISTD), Chok Hao Ze (ISTD)

With over 90% of our food supply imported, Singapore is vulnerable to food supply disruptions. In order to promote self-sufficiency, Singapore has plans to improve food sustainability by leveraging technology. It is becoming increasingly important to educate people about how their food is grown and we see the government launching initiatives to do so. In particular, it is important to educate children they will be most affected in the future.

Riding on the shift in preferences towards growing crops in urban spaces and the increasing need to educate children on the use of technology in food production, our team looked at how might we enable parents and educators to educate and engage children in hydroponics urban farming through technology.

Introducing Plant Buddy

Plant Buddy is a smart interactive plant pot with a companion mobile app that educates and engages children in hydroponics urban farming. The product gamifies the entire plant growing process and provides step-by-step tutorials and guidance while tailoring learning to a child's ability level.

Over the past 8 months, our team worked closely with educators, parents, and children to develop 5 Plant Buddy units which were handed to various children for 8 days as part of a beta trial that yielded stellar results. Users rated the product 4.56/ 5, providing strong validation for the solution.

1. Safe and easy to use - Kids can easily grow healthy plants with minimal effort from parents due to clear guidance provided to the app.

2. Highly educational - Tailors learning to a child's ability to keep them challenged and provides tutorials to guide them to grow plants hydroponically.

3. Intelligent - Has IoT connectivity as well as the ability to give smart and dynamic feedback that is easy for children to understand.

4. Engaging - Gamification has been embedded in every part of the product to make it exciting for children every step of the way.