Soil Tamper Project -- Design Criteria, Problems, and Narrative

The Hampshire College farm workers met with the class to propose some notable design problems with us, mostly relating to the Greenwich greenhouse. This particular one, which we will call the soil tamper, is based on the following prerequisites and problematic: soil inside the greenhouse has to be firmly packed down during certain times in the farming cycle. So far, the farmers have been using a single hand rake to pack down the soil, which has little surface area, requires a bit of force to tamp the soil with (it is very light), isn't ergonomic, and is very time consuming. Aside from these problems, there are further criteria: the serrated edges of the rake are important in that they texturize the soil, and this is desirable for the purpose of giving plants purchase. The workers suggested that a more efficient means would utilize the already-in-place row layout of the greenhouse (which would facilitate the workers being able to stand on the dirt paths in between crops rows, allowing less do-overs due to stepping on the tamped soil); perhaps a larger hand tool such as a large roller with some weight to it, that would roll over the soil instead of having to tamp over and over with the same small instrument. A tool allowing a more relaxed posture would also be desirable. In addition, I would add that the design be simple and appropriate in the sense of easy repair and fabrication; in theory, one could build some sort of fancy robot to do this work, or the like, but this would not be desirable or feasible. The tool should also be appropriately durable for the hardships of frequent use in an agricultural environment.