DMMI Associates Take Invention to Japan
Date: 2004-10-05

BATTLE CREEK, Mich.— Mike and Eric Ely will take their invention, “Samantha the Gardener,” to the 7th annual DENSO Muran Contest in Japan in mid-October. Muran is an interactive idea contest designed to stimulate the imagination and lead to the creation and implementation of new ideas.

After many late nights, the Ely brothers have perfected a machine that aerates the ground and irrigates the soil in close proximity to garden crops. Samantha, named after Mike’s 8-year-old daughter, even uses sensors to detect intruders and repels them with a concentrated stream of water. She is also environmentally friendly. “We wanted to demonstrate the potential for using a water supply to do work,” Mike explains. By using water pressure to operate the machine, its byproduct or waste, is water. In an agricultural context the waste then becomes beneficial rather than harmful to the environment.

Not only is this robot functional, it’s is also entertaining. Mike and Eric gave their invention personality by crafting it to resemble an inch worm. Describing the machine’s quiet syncopated rhythm Mike says, “Its motion is like art.”

Anticipating the competition in Japan and reflecting back upon the project, Eric adds: “Working with my brother was fantastic. We grew up working together on projects in our dad’s workshop our entire lives.”

While they did most of the work in Mike’s workshop in Battle Creek, they appreciate the support they received from DMMI associates. Mike says that “The advice and materials we received from Tool & Die, Machine Finishing and Machine Design were important in successfully fabricating Samantha.”

DENSO Corporation, headquartered in Kariya City, Aichi prefecture, Japan, is a leading global supplier of advanced technology, systems and components. Its customers include all the world’s major carmakers. Worldwide, the company employs 95,000 people in 31 countries and regions, including Japan. Consolidated global sales for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2003, totaled US$24.2 billion. DENSO common stock is traded on the Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya stock exchanges.

In the Americas, (North, Central and South), DENSO employs 14,000 people at 26 companies. Consolidated sales for the above fiscal year totaled $5.3 billion DENSO International America, Inc., Southfield, Mich., serves as the North American headquarters.

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