All in 2 Gardening Glove - AP

    In the class Design & Engineering our past unit has been about tools and their importance in the evolution of mankind. We have focused on different simple machines, primarily the lever and its different classes. For this project, we were tasked with the objective of improving a gardening tool and making it more accessible for the elderly. For this particular assignment, our user is elderly people who garden. Gardening is an activity that is primarily partaken by senior citizens who often have a multitude of physical impediments. This means that many gardening tools are inaccessible for the elderly. Another part of this unit has been learning about how empathy is an important aspect of design. Empathy means learning from others' perspectives and understanding how they feel. It is important to use in design because you need to be empathetic to make products more inclusive.


       To prepare for this project, I interviewed a classmate of mine who is also a gardener. We primarily discussed their use of tools during which they talked about their dislike of tools and wanting to primarily just use their hands. They found that gardening tools could often be replaced by just simply using one far more efficient product, hands. I also had the opportunity to talk with an employee at Home Depot. During that conversation, I learned that one thing that is very important to customers is the quality and durability of an item.

Glove Pictures RBL 2022

    While researching existing gloves I found that there were many varieties, especially when it comes to gardening gloves. The main difference between different kinds of gloves was the materials, I found gloves made of canvas, leather, latex, mesh, etc. Another thing I found interesting about different types of gloves is how their only purpose is to protect your hands, and while they may do it in slightly different ways, all varieties of gloves have only one purpose. And finally, I also found that garden gloves are quite cheap averaging out at less than $10 a pair.

Storyboard of gloves RBL 2022

    The new tool that I designed with my partner is a multi-purpose set of gloves. One of its primary functions is how it can be used for digging more quickly and efficiently. The way we did this is by adding webbing between the fingers of the gloves which allows for more surface area for digging and reduces the amount of dirt that can fall between your fingers. Some of the other purposes it has is a seed dispensing system and a removable extension that goes all the way up your arm to reduce scrapes and cuts on your forearms.

    The three ways our pair of gloves is more efficient and innovative than any competition is the addition of webbing, seed dispensers, and removable long sleeves. These additions make it a more accessible product for the elderly because it reduces the number of tools they need and is also more protective than other gloves. The glove is made of multiple materials. The palm is leather, the sleeve is canvas, and the webbing is made of elastane so that it can stretch when you spread your fingers.

 

All in 2 glove design PC 2022

    Our glove is an example of a lever. It acts this way because your hand is used like a shovel which is an example of a lever. The class of lever our machine falls into is class 3 because the input, which in this case is the strength you use to dig, is in the middle. The output, also known as the load, is the dirt and the fulcrum is your arm which stay in the same point and acts as a pivot for digging.

    Another example of a lever in our design is the seed dispenser. This works as a lever because you are exerting force (an input) through your wrist which leads to a seed falling out of the pouch (an output). the fulcrum in this example is your arm because it stays at a constant point and is what your wrist is pivoting on.

Mathematical concepts used in gloves PC & RBL 2022

    As I wrap up and reflect on this design project I found that it was very fun to create my own product that uses human centered design concepts. I learned a lot about designing products over the past few weeks like how much variety there can be for one kind of product and how different trigonometric and mathematical concepts are used in the real world. Im very proud of how this product turned out, especially the drawings. I am also proud of how my partner, RBL, and I worked together on this product. It was difficult to come up with an idea at first but I am grateful for his help throughout the whole project. This project was overall very fun and a great way to learn more about being a designer.