Technical model

System Diagram

The SmartBarrow scheme is a provenance tool that will provide information regarding where local food is sourced and distributed to consumers. The scheme is proposed to be introduced in subsequent stages. In stage 1 the aim is to distribute an embedded device to farmers and to set up a web application on the internet. At this initial stage farmers will be able to create profiles for their farm online and using the embedded device they will be able to provide information to the consumer who can easily scan the QR tag using an enabled smart phone. Local shoppers will be able to inform themselves on local food production and practices.

 

At a second step, local sellers will be asked to join the scheme. They will be equipped with a similar embedded device which allows them to scan the produce which they receive. This way the build up an online inventory. At the same time local consumers are being equipped with a loyalty card which the seller can used to associate products bought to a dedicated consumer account. Under this extended scheme, consumers will be able to access their recent purchases combined with an interactive map that visualises the allocation of their expenditure in the local economy. At some stage the system will be smart enough to propose recommendations based on previous and friends shopping behavior.

User Journeys

Producer
Figure # illustrates the user journey the producer travels through when using the Smart Barrow scheme. The first step the producer takes is they farm their produce, afterward they pack it into the crate, ready to send to market. The produce then gets their Smart Barrow QR printing device, using the device, they enter the details of the box’s contents and print the corresponding QR code. Finally, they attach the QR code to the create and send it to the market.

Seller
Figure # illustrates the user journey a seller goes through when using the Smart Barrow scheme. Their first step is receiving the box of produce sent by the produce. This box will have the QR code attached, containing the details of both the produce inside and the producer who produced it all. The seller then sets out the produce to sell to customers who visit the market.
Using the Smart Barrow QR reading device, the seller can then proceed to scan all the QR tags they have received. The information contained in each tag will then be saved to a buffer on the device which will be uploaded to the Smart Barrow database when the device is connected to the Internet (via USB or WiFi connection).
Consumer
Figure # illustrates the user journey the consumer can pass through when engaging and interacting with the Smart Barrow scheme. The consumer’s journey is slightly more complex than the producers’ and of the  sellers’ respective journeys. The consumer can interact with the system either through the web on the Smart Barrow website or through the market that sells local produce.

Through the website, consumers may browser information of local produce such as where it is grown and sold in addition to information about the producer who farmed the produce. It may be possible for the consumer to purchase the items online through the farmers’ websites, however this is external to our scheme and may not always be possible.

The consumer may also engage in the scheme through the markets that sell local food. In the market they will see the QR codes for each box of produce being sold. If the consumer can scan the code (i.e. they have the required hardware and software), they can proceed to do so. If they cannot scan the codes, they can be directed to the Smart Barrow website, where they can view all the information collected by our scheme.

Hardware Infrastructure

This section discusses and explains the use for the hardware used within the system for the SmartBarrow scheme.

 

SmartBarrow embedded device

The SmartBarrow scheme will be enabled using IT technology. To facilitate data mining activities, we propose to develop a relatively low-tech embedded device based on the popular open-source Arduino platform. In order to enhance flexibility and for the sake of low implementation costs, the device will be modifiable by attaching different optional components. This way we will achieve a “farmer” and respectively “seller” configuration of the same embedded device. The device will be encased in a rugged case with buttons placed onto it. The buttons will link to the Arduino circuit board underneath which will be used to record the data using a simple program written in the open-source software Open Frameworks.

 

Producer’s SmartBarrow QR Printer

If the embedded device is used at the farmers side it will feature a thermal printer which is capable of printing QR tags for fresh produce. It can then be used when the producer is packing away their produce, ready to take to market. Next to basic information, such as the product type and the quantity using, additional contextual information may be captured which includes date, origin of production and identity of the producer. The device is able to record the identity of the producer as it is previously programmed with the producer’s ID number, this number is used by the database to identify the farmer and the place where they produce their food. The device temporarily stores the data and reports it to a dedicated SmartBarrow web system. The device then prints a QR code with the inputted data which can be attached to the produce before it is then sent off to the sale point.

Seller’s SmartBarrow QR Reader

In phase 2, an additional configuration of the device is being introduced for the seller which comes with a QR reader in exchange for the printer. The seller will then be able to scan produce received. The seller will scan the data using the QR code and then this data will reside on the device in a local memory buffer. During a customer transaction the seller scans the items bought. At a final step the customer loyalty card is scanned in order to allow the association of the purchase to a registered customer account.

 

Web Infrastructure

The scheme is driven by a central web application on which the data is hosted and made available. The server will be used to store the information for the website within a database. This database will be queried by the website in order for it to display the requested information by a user. The structure of the website and the database the system will use is detailed within the next section. This section discusses the web infrastructure used by the SmartBarrow scheme.
SmartBarrow Web Site

The SmartBarrow website will be a public website, requiring no registration to view the data collected, this fits in with our collective open data ethos. However, in order for producers and consumers to contribute to the site and connect with their respective profiles and accounts they will be required to register with the page through a standard user name and password system.

 

The website will display an interactive local food provenance map which uses the information captured by the devices and general registration details from local farmers. The vision here is that corresponding sources of local food will be shown in the local area (North and Central Lancashire, in our case). When an area is selected, the user will be able to collect more detailed descriptions of the food produced in that area, along with information regarding the producer themselves. Through this, the user will be better informed with respect to where their food has come from, and we hope that through displaying this to the producer, an element of empathy toward the producer will be forged in the user, allowing them to keep using the scheme we provide.

 

The food producers will be able to add a profile on the site, as mentioned. Within the site, they will be able to add blog entries and amend information on their page. Of course, we appreciate not all producers will do this and it is not a strict requirement that the producers do this. The system will use a comment form that allows consumers, or indeed other producers to leave comments such that these users can engage in conversation. As a group, we consider creating a network of local producers and consumers to be something that strengthens the ties between the community and in turn, makes the community more willing to become collectively sustainable.

 

In the future, this is discussed in greater detail in the future of the system section, the system would collect the selling details of individual consumers. The intuition here is that participating consumers who are interested can build their own map of how they support their local food community and see with clarity and simplicity where all of their local food sourced from.

Usage of data
Querying the database, the website will be able to generate pools of information that can be presented to users. For instance, the database will be able to be queried to observe were the food particular markets sell comes from to create a food travel map. This could be used to show farmers, potentially how they may transport too much produce around. The central idea, however, is that others can use this information as they wish to create their own mashups, this is a key notion in the open linked data community that our team aims to contribute to. It is key to understand our aim to collect information, not create means to use it, that will be largely left to the community.

Strengths of the Technical Concept Presented

Open Nature of System
A key strength of the SmartBarrow system concept presented here lies in its open nature. Inspired by the open source community, we have created a system that is open in that anyone can join, add to it and contribute. The system will be left open such that if another area outside of Lancashire wanted to use SmartBarrow to develop their local food community, and this is the aim if we are ensure sustainability in food consumption, they are free to do so without restrictions. The QR code device will be open such that people can see the specifications for it and how to build their own, essentially the device will be open source hardware.

Scalability of System
The system has been designed such that it is scalable. Indeed, if the system to have a substantial impact on how society purchases local produce, it must be scalable such that it can grow to cover as wide an area as is possible. The strength lies in the system being scalable, it is designed so it can grow and cover wider areas with no loss to its impact. Indeed, the further it grows, the more impact it can potentially have.

Transparency of Food
The SmartBarrow scheme allows consumers to learn more about where their food comes from. This is not restricted simply to location, which in our scheme is precise to the farm the food came from, but also shows who produced the food. Not only can people see where their food is from, but who farmed it and when. This type of transparency is not common place in the developed world, supermarkets for instance will usually just say what county a food item is from and no more. Through QR codes, our system makes it easy for consumers to learn about where their food is from and learn more about the farmer who produces it. As mentioned earlier, this knowledge can induce empathy in consumers through a human touch in knowing who produced the food and seeing images of the people responsible (possible at work).