The Story
Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) is growing rapidly, but onboarding new workers in vertical farms and greenhouses remains a challenge. Training is often manual, inconsistent, and difficult to scale across large facilities. SkyAcres company set out to design a mobile-first training app that provides clarity, structure, and confidence for new trainees helping them adapt quickly and perform complex tasks with ease. My role was to design the core user experience for trainees, ensuring the app works seamlessly in real-world farming environments.
Problem
New trainees struggle with complex greenhouse workflows that involve sensors, equipment, and repetitive tasks.
Training is often time-consuming, relying on supervisors for guidance.
Workers need to manage tasks under challenging conditions: wearing gloves, working under bright lights, and sometimes in areas with poor Wi-Fi.
RESEARCH
Gloves & Bright Lights
Workers often use touchscreen gloves and operate under intense greenhouse lighting, requiring large tap targets and high-contrast colors.
Unstable Wi-Fi
Connectivity can be unreliable, so the app must work offline and sync later when a network is available.
Urgent Tasks
Critical issues like water leaks or pH imbalance need clear visual language red icons and always shown at the top.
Proof & Accountability
Supervisors need photo/video uploads, notes, and timestamps for task verification and traceability.
Task Flow
Most tasks are auto-generated by sensors or routines, with guidance delivered in a step-by-step checklist format.
Solution
I created a mobile-first training app for new trainees in Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA), designed to simplify onboarding in vertical farms and greenhouses. The app delivers sensor-driven tasks, step-by-step checklists, and short training videos, while supporting offline use and glove-friendly interactions. My focus was on making training clear, accessible, and confidence-building from day one.
Key feature // 1
Daily Streak & Progress Tracking
The app motivates trainees with a daily streak system and clear task summaries. Workers can see weather conditions, planned tasks with estimated hours, and track start-to-finish times. On completion, streaks and stats reinforce consistency and productivity in the field.
Key feature // 2
Task Management
The dashboard helps greenhouse and farm workers stay organized with a clear view of tasks, estimated time, and progress. Urgent tasks are flagged in red and shown on top, while each card includes location, duration, and a one-tap start button. Workers can easily browse remaining tasks like leak detection or nutrient checks, with a progress bar keeping them on track throughout the day.
Key feature // 3
Guided task with visual systems map
The SkyAcres app guides workers step by step with clear instructions, videos, and checklists, ensuring accuracy even for new trainees. Tasks are pinned on a visual system map, showing racks and sections with color-coded markers (red for urgent, green for pending). Workers can tap a marker to view details like product type and container count, making it easy to locate, understand, and complete tasks in real time.
Results
Accessibility Test and Impact
Designed for real greenhouse conditions, I ensured tasks stay clear, quick, and easy to complete. Workers can navigate confidently even with gloves, bright light, and urgent demands.
Big Tap Targets
Buttons sized for easy use with gloves.
High Contrast
Ensured visibility under strong greenhouse lights using hight contrast green and orange
Text to Speech
Enabled quick input without typing.
Impact
Faster task completion when urgent tasks were clearly flagged and prioritized. Fewer errors with step-by-step checklists and visual guidance Stronger adoption by new trainees through text-to-speech notes and large tap targets
Takeaways
Designing with the realities of greenhouse environments gloves, bright light, and urgent conditions highlighted the importance of clarity and accessibility. By focusing on prioritization, visual language, and easy input methods, the app not only improved efficiency but also increased trainee engagement and learning outcomes.
more projects
