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Avotraq

Team
Role
Timeline
Skills
Solo Project
Product Designer
Apr - May 2025
Sketching
User Research
Prototyping
3D Modeling (Solidworks)
Rendering (Keyshot)



The Problem
Many people find it difficult to determine the optimal time to consume fruits and vegetables, often leading to spoilage and unnecessary waste.
While fresh produce is an important part of a healthy lifestyle, its short shelf life and unpredictable ripening contribute to the larger issue of food waste, which impacts both the environment and household expenses.

In this design project, I aim to help users waste less and eat smarter by designing a smart storage solution that keeps track of produce freshness and alerts them when it should be eaten or discarded.
My Design Process  
Here are the steps I followed...
1. Identify
2. Research
3. Ideate
4. Create
5. Develop
6. Reflect
Research
User Insights  
To better understand how people manage and experience fruits and vegetables at home, I conducted interviews with a range of target audiences, including parents, college students, and young adults.

The conversations focused on habits, frustrations, and behaviors around storing, tracking, and consuming products.

In addition to these interviews, I also conducted secondary research using studies and reports related to food waste and consumer behavior.

Here are the key findings from both:
Secondary Research: Ethylene Gas and Fruit Ripening
To support my user findings, I conducted secondary research on fruit ripening patterns and ethylene gas to better understand the science behind its spoilage.
 
  • Ethylene: natural plant hormone released by many fruits during the ripening process.
     
  • Ethylene gas acts as a chemical signal that triggers changes in texture, color, and flavor.
     
  • High ethylene-producing fruits (climacteric fruits) like avocados, bananas, and tomatoes continue to ripen after harvest, and rising ethylene levels serve as a reliable indicator of their ripeness stage.
The four stages of avocado ontogeny
Source: Researchgate.net

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People rely on guesswork.
The NRDC reports that Americans waste nearly 19% of vegetables and 14% of fruits, largely because they struggle to accurately judge ripeness using common methods like squeezing or smelling.

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Avocados are the most frustrating.
Avocados consistently rank as one of the hardest fruits to time correctly, with bananas, peaches, and tomatoes also commonly difficult to judge.
Spoilage creates guilt and financial concern.
Most users felt guilty or frustrated about throwing away fruits and vegetables, and some even avoid buying certain items that spoil quickly.

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Sustainability is important but only if it fits into users' routines.
Many users care about food waste and sustainability, but they are unlikely to stick with solutions that are too time-consuming, or require frequent manual input.

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How might we use ethylene detection to create a simple, low-effort solution that helps users know when their avocados are ripe and ready to eat, in order to reduce food waste?
Ideation
Initial Sketches  
Based on the insights gathered from user insights and secondary research, I moved into the ideation phase to begin exploring possible solutions.

Since avocados consistently emerged as the most frustrating fruit to manage, I decided to focus the product specifically on tracking avocado ripeness.
sketches avotraq-Picsart-AiImageEnhancer.png
Development
Lo-Fi Prototype
Once I had a more developed sketch, I created a low/mid-fidelity prototype using yellow foam.

This step allowed me to better understand the product’s dimensions in physical space and test its form and usability in context before moving into CAD.
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3D CAD Model
After finalizing the foam prototype, I created a CAD model on Solidworks using the exact same dimensions.
version 1
version 1.1
version 1.2
Material Inspiration
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Form Refinement  
After exploring materials, I chose to go for a wood and metal combination to achieve a modern and minimalist, yet home-friendly aesthetic.

I returned to SolidWorks to refine the form by introduced a layer to highlight the material transition and added fillets for a smoother, more realistic finish before rendering.
added transition
closeup
Solution

Avotraq

Avotraq is a smart avocado sensor designed to help users store and consume avocados at peak ripeness through intuitive, tech-enhanced monitoring.

By removing the guesswork from ripeness, it offers a simple, reliable way to use avocados at their best, minimizing food waste and adding ease to everyday routines.
render 1
render 2
Ethylene Gas Sensor
LED Light (Ripeness Indicator)
render 4
render 3
Reflection
What Have I Learned?
1. The benefit of making physical models before CAD.
 
  • Building quick cardboard and foam prototypes early on helped clarify form, scale, and interactions before diving into digital modeling.
  • This hands-on approach made the CAD process more efficient and informed better design decisions from the start.

2. The effect of materials on visual aesthetics.
 
  • Experimenting with different material finishes in KeyShot showed how much impact texture, color, and reflectivity have on the product’s tone.
  • This taught me to think more intentionally about how materials support the overall brand and user perception.

3. Making in-context renders.
 
  • Creating realistic kitchen renders for the first time challenged me with lighting and scale but helped me grow as a
    designer.
  • I learned that in-context renders helped communicate scale, usability, and purpose more effectively.

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