As mentioned earlier in the report, this project has an application that's used with the plant pot. It's used to monitor the metrics of the plant pot, to guide the user to increased productivity and to keep track of the evolution of both. At the time of writing, the application is only developed for usage on Android smartphones with ideas for increasing the app market. This application is written in Flutter and uses a Supabase backend for storing data and handling authentication.

The application is split in a self written front-end and a cloud-based back-end. There are several reasons behind why the team chose to use a cloud-based back-end instead of writing their own.

• Time management: Without the need for writing a custom back-end solution, the developer could put more focus into the front-end's logic and UI.
• No hosting: A cloud-based back-end is already online, meaning the team doesn't need to handle hosting costs. Secondly, the team doesn't need to manage that hosting, allowing further focus on the front-end.
• Ease of use: Cloud-based back-end solutions offer tools to make the back-end workflow easy. These include tools to build tables, querying tools, policy assignment tools and many more.

The front-end is written in Flutter, an open source programming framework designed by Google and written in Dart. The widgets are split into multiple components following atomic design. By using atomic design, the developer can make big changes throughout the application by making macro changes. This also allows for categorization of widgets per function and size [1]. Both of these allow for faster workflow and separation of concern.

As mentioned in the previous chapter, the developer of the team went through a careful process of of continuous user testing and wireframe development in order to create a design that matched the purpose as well as a design that was accessible. To attain both goals, the developer used the following apps for design reference:

• Forest, an application that aims to help its users increase their productivity by growing a virtual forest.
• Minimalist phone, an overhaul of the user's phone by removing all applications off the home screen and displaying a minimal amount of necessary widgets (e.g. the current time) to decrease the amount of distractions.
• Liven, a mental health application designed to increase in the user's relaxation and levels of serenity.

The wireframe was made with high-fidelity in mind, meaning it had its own housestyle before the final decision on housestyle for the eventual application. Because of this, the final product looks a bit different from what was shown during user testing. However, the main concepts stayed the same, being the colors, positioning of elements and edge design.

One notable design is the usage of simple icons which fit more into the design of the background and show less details, meaning the user's brain is more calm when processing the information [2]. Figure comparison_scanning_page_wireframe_and_product is a perfect example of these changes. This is the first page the user sees after authentication, the plant connection page. As shown below, the page in the final product looks simpler in design and shows less information.

The primary objective of the Screen2Green project was to develop a prototype concept that links smartphone usage to plant care in order to promote awareness of excessive screen time and encourage healthier digital habits. During the project, a complete system concept was developed, including the mechanical design, electronic architecture, mobile application, and irrigation strategy. Research into digital wellbeing, hydroponics, plant growth, and smart farming technologies provided the foundation for the design decisions made throughout the project. The project successfully established the framework for integrating smartphone screen-time monitoring with plant care. Initial hardware and software development demonstrated communication between the system components and provided the basis for the intended behavioral feedback mechanism.

The project also provided valuable engineering insights through practical testing and component validation. During prototype testing, it was discovered that the selected solenoid valve required a higher operating pressure than could be provided by the original gravity-fed irrigation setup. To overcome this limitation and continue development, the prototype was adapted to use a water pump-based irrigation system. This finding highlighted an important limitation of the chosen prototype components rather than the overall product concept. Further investigation identified alternative low-pressure valve solutions that are more suitable for the intended final product design. Although these alternative components could not be procured and tested within the project timeframe, their identification provides a clear path for future implementation and validation. As a result, the irrigation solution intended for the final product could not be fully validated within the project timeframe. Nevertheless, the project successfully developed and evaluated the overall concept, demonstrated the feasibility of linking smartphone usage to plant care, and identified key technical challenges together with promising solutions for future development.

The project was limited by the available development and testing period. Consequently, long-term evaluation of plant growth and user behavior was not possible. The concept demonstrates the feasibility of linking smartphone usage to plant care, but does not provide sufficient data to assess its long-term impact on screen-time reduction. In addition, the system was primarily developed with basil as the target plant. The performance of the concept with other plant species remains unknown and would require further investigation.

A significant limitation identified during the final stages of development was related to the irrigation system. Testing revealed that the selected solenoid valve required a higher water pressure than could be provided by the original gravity-fed irrigation concept. This discovery required a redesign of the irrigation system and delayed the assembly and validation of the final prototype. Another limitation identified during testing was the heat generated by the solenoid valve. The current prototype design is based on a PLA housing, whereas the intended final product incorporates cork as the primary structural material. Since the thermal behaviour of these materials differs, the long-term effects of heat generation on the final design could not be evaluated. Furthermore, the redesign of the irrigation system may require additional modifications to the internal layout and overall product architecture.

Future work should focus on integrating and testing the identified low-pressure valve solution within the final product architecture. The water pump-based solution implemented during prototype development served as a practical workaround to continue testing and validation activities. However, the intended final product aims to maintain the original gravity-fed irrigation concept by utilizing a low-pressure valve that can operate without additional pumping. Preliminary analysis suggests that the replacement valve will overcome the pressure limitations encountered during prototype testing and enable the intended irrigation strategy. Experimental validation is nevertheless required to confirm system reliability, water delivery performance, and long-term operation. Additional testing using the intended cork-based housing is also recommended. This would allow evaluation of thermal behaviour, moisture resistance, structural durability, and overall product performance under realistic operating conditions. Such testing would provide valuable insights into the interaction between the irrigation system, electronic components, and sustainable construction materials.

Future work should also focus on optimizing the growing medium. During the project, sodium alginate and polyacrylamide were identified as promising materials for improving water retention and moisture distribution. Further experimentation should be conducted to determine the optimal mixture and porosity for supporting healthy plant growth and efficient water management. Future versions of Screen2Green could support a wider variety of plants and include additional environmental sensors for monitoring factors such as temperature, humidity, and water levels. Improvements to the mobile application, including enhanced user feedback, usage analytics, and personalization features, could further strengthen the connection between digital habits and plant care.

Finally, a long-term user study should be conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the biological feedback mechanism and determine whether the system contributes to lasting changes in smartphone usage behaviour. Such a study would provide valuable insight into the long-term impact of the concept and help validate its effectiveness as a tool for promoting digital wellbeing.