AgrAbility mechanized rolling kneeler cart helps small farms tend low crops
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EmailMichigan AgrAbility’s Fall 2024 Mechanical Engineering capstone project earned the Edison Award for Best Capstone Design Project.
On December 6, 2024, the Fall semester's Mechanical Engineering Design Day showcased an array of innovative projects, including one sponsored by Michigan AgrAbility. This project aimed to support a lavender farmer experiencing severe foot pain, demonstrating how engineering solutions can enhance the quality of life for members of the agricultural community.
A dedicated design team of five engineering students, guided by agricultural engineer and assistive technology professional Ned Stoller, collaborated to create a solution tailored to the needs of the lavender farmer. The result was a motorized kneeling cart designed to ease the physical strain of tending to lavender crops. With multiple surgeries and persistent foot pain limiting the farmer’s mobility, the team developed a cart that features a thick cushioned pad for kneeling, a strap to reduce back strain and a straightforward steering system for easy operation. Initially, the cart was not intended to be motorized.
“The original plan was not to include a self-propulsion system, but after building the cart, [we] realized [we] had time and resources to make the cart motorized. This really improved the utility of the cart because a user could move up and down a garden row without getting off the cart or pulling themselves along,” Hannah Crist, design team member explained.
The motorized version of the cart can reach speeds of up to 0.34 feet per second (0.32 mph) and includes an adjustable speed dial for more precise movements. A simple switch enables effortless starting and stopping, making it ideal for tending rows of flowering plants or vegetables. This innovative design earned major recognition, winning the prestigious Edison Award for Best Design Project of the term.
Economically accessible, the kneeling cart can be built for $550 without the motor and $850-$875 for the motorized option. Detailed construction plans are available online, enabling other farmers to adopt from this practical solution.
Since 2015, Michigan AgrAbility has sponsored 23 mechanical engineering capstone projects, all aimed at improving the quality of life of people in agriculture. Past projects include an automatic gate opener, a folding tractor step, an outdoor wood furnace loader and beekeeping equipment, such as the mechanized swarm trap hive lifter developed during the Spring 2024 term. These assistive technologies have significantly benefited AgrAbility clients. In 2024 alone, the program supported 157 clients across the state.
The mission of AgrAbility is to improve the quality of life for farmers with a disability, injury or illness through direct technical assistance and implementation of assistive technology on the farm to simplify tasks and keep people farming.
AgrAbility is a USDA-funded program. In Michigan, it is operated through a partnership between Michigan State University and EastersealsMORC. Design Day serves as the culmination of a semester-long engineering capstone course, giving students the opportunity to apply technical expertise, communication skills and teamwork to solve real-world problems. More details on this AgrAbility-sponsored project can be found on page 88 of the Fall 2024 Design Day booklet.
This project was supported by the AgrAbility Competitive Program of the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), grant number 2022-41590-38121.
Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
