Culti-Grabbing the Soil

In this unit of Design and Engineering, we learned about how tools are designed, volume, surface area, and vectors, which are important concepts for creating a product. Throughout the class, I was surprised to see that math and drawing had a connection in the real world for designers. We mainly focused on gardening products and how designers must complete many steps before manufacturing a product. For one of our Field Experiences, we had the opportunity to speak with the owner of Beyond Design Inc about the process of inventing an original tool. It made me realize the team effort required to create something that could improve thousands of lives. Mostly elderly people like to garden, though many tools aren’t made for their needs. I learned that it is important to take people’s differences into consideration when designing. For the Action Project, my task was to improve a gardening tool so it makes the task easier for an elderly person. My class and I took a trip to Home Depot to pick a gardening tool and inspect its different components, in order to be inspired for our invention. The tool is meant for someone who has low hand strength, and needs assistance in cultivating the soil for aerated soil. Many tools need a lot of hand strength in order for them to work, but this lightweight hand tool will just need to be lifted and placed on top of the soil so it can do its job. This project is teaching me how to have empathy in designing this tool, because it needs to be made for the hands of someone else, not myself. Empathy is being able to understand how another person feels. I got out of my mindset and was able to interview an avid gardener about how they feel about gardening, so I could think of a solution to their hobby troubles.

JMP, Interview with a Gardener, (2018)

From my interview, I learned that if a designer keeps a tool simple, it will perform amazingly at its intended task. Tools that camouflage with their environment become dangerous, as a gardener might accidentally step on them. Owning brightly colored tools makes them easier to locate. Small tools are popular because they are portable and light. Also, gardeners grow into their hobby because of their parents' or grandparents' love for it. It is a shared passion to enjoy the slow but rewarding growth of plants throughout time. 

I had to conduct a lot of research on existing examples of my tool. To cultivate deeper into the soil, a more curved pronged cultivator is best. Keeping it light with minimal prongs will make it more portable. A stronger, three pronged cultivator will aerate the soil best. Cushioned grips make working more comfortable and keeps sweat away. Wood is often used in tools because it is lightweight and is cheap. Not properly using a wood tool can cause breakage.

After gaining a sense of what can be improved in the cultivator, my partner and I created the "Culti-Grab". This new tool acts as an automatic cultivator. The prongs work together to get rid of big clumps of soil so a plant can grow its roots out. It aerates the soil by acting as a claw machine. You hover it over a selected area of clumped soil, and press the GRAB button to dig to break down the lumps. Press the OPEN button to release the claw, to let go of the now aerated soil. The three prongs are made of carbon steel, which is lightweight and strong for the thickest of dirt. A handy timer reminds the gardener to take a break every 30 minutes, to not wear their muscles out. It is recommended to take breaks while gardening, or else strain will cause deep pain in your body. The button makes it simple to adjust the prong’s curl, for different dirt thicknesses. For a comfortable experience, the grip is made of gel that molds to the hand, making the planting feel natural. 

This tool gives the gardener a break from intense manual labor, and does the digging for you. Elders can find comfort in the grip, so it doesn’t bruise their hands. Being able to adjust the tool’s parts is handy because it is worth investing in interchangeable tools, rather than tools with different sizes.

The Culti-Grab is similar to a wedge, because it drives into dirt to separate the dirt chunks. The prongs work together to wedge into the soil in order to get the task done. The grab button make the angle of the prongs more drastic so they insert into the soil, and the open button makes the angles of prongs less so the soil can be released.

This project gave me a more positive view of gardening. I recognized that there are many factors in taking part of this hobby. Being able to be hands-on with tools was helpful, because it put me in the shoes of a gardener and the hardships it has. I believe that this hobby is rewarding because you end up with a beautiful piece of life that you helped raise. It was easy for me to depict how to use the new tool. I was able to work well with my partner, by splitting up the work evenly. Coming up with an original idea was difficult at first, but we let our creativity show and thought of the wackiest inventions with no hesitation. If I have the materials one day, I would love to bring this idea to life and use it myself and share it with others!