Design and Evaluation of a Precision Irrigation Tool’s Human–Machine Interaction to Bring Water- and Energy-Efficient Irrigation to Resource-Constrained Farmers

Georgia D. Van de Zande (), Fiona Grant, Carolyn Sheline, Susan Amrose, Jeffery Costello, Aditya Ghodgaonkar and Amos G. Winter V
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Georgia D. Van de Zande: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
Fiona Grant: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
Carolyn Sheline: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
Susan Amrose: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
Jeffery Costello: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
Aditya Ghodgaonkar: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
Amos G. Winter V: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 19, 1-22

Abstract: As freshwater supplies decrease, adopting sustainable practices like water- and energy-efficient irrigation is crucial, particularly in resource-constrained regions. Here, farmers often cannot purchase precision irrigation equipment, which achieves high water and energy efficiencies via full automation. Currently, no irrigation methods exist that combine automatic scheduling of events with manual operation of valves, familiar hardware on low-income farms. This work synthesizes functional requirements for a tool that could address efficiency needs while integrating into current manual practices. Then, a design concept for an automatic scheduling and manual operation (AS-MO) human–machine interaction (HMI) that meets these requirements is proposed. Two design stages of the AS-MO HMI were evaluated by farmers and market stakeholders in three countries. Results show that farmers in Kenya and Jordan valued the proposed AS-MO HMI because they could increase efficiency on their farms without the cost or complexity of automatic valves. In Morocco, a possible market was found, but a majority of participants preferred full automation. Interviewees provided feedback on how to improve the tool’s design in future iterations. If adopted at scale, the proposed AS-MO tool could increase efficiency on farms that otherwise cannot afford current precision irrigation technology, improving sustainable agriculture worldwide.

Keywords: sustainable design; water efficiency; energy efficiency; human–machine interaction; human–machine information transfer; user interaction; user experience; irrigation; agriculture; automation; precision irrigation; decision support systems (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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