enso

What it does

enso is a product designed to grow food indoors. Utilising rotary hydroponics, no soil is used, and the plants are rotated slowly through a water basin. This allows those without access to outdoor gardens to grow food at home,while emphasising mental wellbeing

Your inspiration

Inspiration for the project came from personal experience of living in cities and the impact which this environment had upon my lifestyle. Cities have many benefits but also can have many negative effects such as higher stress levels and an increase in mood disorders such as irritability and depression. My goal was to bring nature back into the lives of apartment dwellers, promote mindfulness, and facilitate plant growth for kitchen use. enso also has a heavy emphasis on sustainability, by reducing the energy and resources needed to cultivate plants using intensive farming methods.

How it works

The technology in use is essentially quite simple, with a unique application. Based on the theory of rotary hydroponics, the plants are rooted in a neutral substrate such as rockwool or compressed coconut fibres, and they are rotated around a central light source. This means that for half of the plants growth cycle they are inverted, and at the bottom of the cycle, the roots are brought through a nutrient filled water basin. The inversion of the plants circulates vital growth hormones throughout the organism, rather than just at the base, this boosts both plant size and growth speed. In addition to this, when the plant roots are not in the water, they have nearly 100% oxygen availability, further boosting growth speed. enso has two main parts; the base which holds the water and turning mechanism, and the ring which houses the plants. Within the base are two rollers which the ring sits on, one of which is powered, and causes the ring to rotate slowly.

Design process

The design process was loosely based on the 'Double Diamond' process developed by the British Design Council. This divergent and convergent development process was adapted into a personal design process I followed. The initial discovery stage was the exploration of the inspiration point outlined previously. The following stage was secondary research, this stage involved market observations to provide a sense of how viable a product is in relation to market saturation and innovation. Alongside this, associated literature and academic journals were reviewed in order to build an understanding of the needs, limitations, opportunities, and surrounding information of the product area. This was followed by primary research which included interviews, surveys, & user observation studies. After this knowledge had been gathered, I outlined a specification of needs and in turn an opportunity definition & design brief. From here ideation began, creative sketching, prototyping, and more user testing. Initial prototypes were made with card and foam for form exploration, more refined methods were used to develop mechanical needs. The biggest outcome of the sketch models was the realisation of the size and shape needed to house sufficient amounts of water, while remaining small enough for homes.

How it is different

There are currently no products utilising rotary hydroponics for home hobby or leisure use. The technology currently only exists for large industrial applications such as underground farms. There are of course different options available to the consumer wishing to grow food at home; window boxes have been popular in the past. But enso offers an array of benefits to the consumer which are unique and novel. Plants can be grown 24 hours a day, and are not season dependent. Growth times are roughly 1/5th when compared to traditional soil growth methods, and use a fraction of the light and water. Additionally, a strong emphasis is placed on the interaction with nature and the plant growing process, as an escape from the urban environment and the stresses associated with it. enso can be viewed as much a mindfulness product as a food growth system, albeit with the added benefit of fresh, organic food being produced as part of the interaction.

Future plans

The next steps for enso are to define the processes to be used to mass manufacture the product, and the complete a business plan with associated costs and investment required to make the concept a commercially viable venture. It is my belief that enso has the potential to become a commercial success and I am willing to work towards this goal. The ideal scenario being a B2B sales model, commencing from a start up incubator.

Awards

enso has been awarded 'best product design prototype' at the Dublin Institute of Technology Graduate Exhibition 2017