EggDate – Egg laying time dater
Images: https://thegrownetwork.com/eat-artificial-eggs/ https://staregg.ca/egg-production/ http://www.fao.org/emergencies/la-fao-enaccion/proyectos/proyecto-detalle/es/c/1203093/ https://www.foodrepublic.com/2013/01/24/can-you-eat-expired-eggs/
Eggs that sold to people for consumption are produced by chickens, that are usually kept in farms.
However, these birds can be kept in very different living conditions. In large battery farms, chickens
remain in small cages, being fed and watered, with eggs rolling away as soon as they are laid. In smaller
farming operations, chickens roam freely and eggs are retrieved by hand directly from chicken nests or
hen houses.
In either case, it is useful to know exactly when an egg has been laid, so that it can be collected and
marked with a date for selling purposes. This way, guarantees of egg freshness can be made by the
vendor at the point of sale (e.g. a supermarket). Given the diversity of hen living conditions, this device
might need to be different, depending on the application (i.e. automatic or manual). However, the basic
method to date the egg without breaking it is probably the same.
EggDate Inc., a Canadian start-up that employs you, has decided to design a new type of egg-marking
device to help chicken egg farmers date their produce accurately. The objective is for it to be used by
different types of chicken egg-laying operations, right across Canada. You lead a design team of 5
members (this includes you!) to create this new product at EggDate Inc. Explain how you and your team
would solve this design problem using Design Thinking, up to and including the empathize stage. Be as
specific as you can and demonstrate that you understand and can apply what you have learned in the
course so far.