Introducing MIMO!

Seeking to be an increasingly sufficient nation, Singapore has set her sights on the 30 by 30 goal - to have 30% of our nutritional needs produced locally and sustainably by the year 2030. 

To investigate the efficacy of the government's efforts in driving food sustainability, we visited community gardens in Tampines with varying levels of urban farming interventions. Two observational methods were used in our time there.

1. 1. Observational Study - Understanding the appeal of a community garden as a third place, via Static Snapshots and Gate Method.

2. 2. General Survey - Identifying challenges of actively particpating in community gardens, and user needs to be met to promote urban farming activity.

From the data collected, we were surprised to see that members of the community showed little interest in how high-tech or impressive farming facilities are in their residential estate. Rather, people care more for personal convenience, the availability of communal spaces to partake in both programmed and self-initiated activities, and certain levels of guidance to aid in urban farming activities.

With that, MIMO aims to introduce farming as a new behaviour in communities, facilitating a guided experience in a Third Place, providing a comfortable communal space and a convenient entry point for participation in farming activities.

To facilitate a Third Place, our MIMO modules need to be modular, interactive and automated. These help create a new typology of space that both draws the community and encourages community-driven urban farming with digital elements to help integrate and enhance the farming experience within these revitalised spaces.

1. Configurable Simple Benches

2. Plug-in Plant Pods

3. Semi-automated Irrigation

4. Photophilic Rotation

5. Human-response Movement

1. Plant Personalisation

2. Plant Stage Journey

3. Active MIMO Monitoring

4. Plant Growth Diary

1:1 TEST PROTOTYPE - Testing scale and fittings of the physical module, and the suitability of electronics and materials to facilitate interactions

1:1 FINAL PROTOTYPE - testing the fabrication of the complete product as close as intended, with the cost and time constraints of the project

1:20 SCALED AGGREGATION MODELS - Testing and establishing an aggregation ruleset for the creation of social spaces in residential areas

MIMO APPLICATION - Testing the usability and congruence of key digital mobile application features with the physical module

Our user testing process comprises 3 sections.

1. Pre-test & Post-test Questionnaires - To understand how members of the community perceive urban farming activities, in light of both current interventions and after using MIMO.

2. Physical Testing - To test the usability of the physical MIMO module for farming purposes, as well as how people interact with it and with one another as a new typology of social space.

3. Digital Testing - To test the usability of the MIMO application in facilitating and encouraging urban farming, through guidance and monitoring assistance.

Our user sample's response to MIMO was positive, finding MIMO to be relatively usable and accessible as compared to current community farming interventions. In their feedback, MIMO allowed them to be more informed about the farming process and lowered the barrier to entry by making farming a more manageable task through MIMO features. They were rather excitable about MIMO's various interactions as well, with MIMO's life-like rotation and interactive application interface.

Acknowledging that the results gathered are not generalisable to the population due to project limitations, the user testing feedback still serves as a means give us a sense of how the community might respond to MIMO, allowing us to further improve on MIMO and navigate the potential success of a community-driven urban farming third place.

Day

Night

Axonometric View

Plan View

Elevation View

MIMO's View

Meet The Team

Thank You!