DMMI Associates' Invention Places 3rd in Contest
Date: 2004-11-01

BATTLE CREEK, Mich.— Out of 5,931 entries Mike and Eric Ely’s invention, “Samantha the Gardener,” placed 3rd at the annual DENSO Muran Contest in Japan, winning $1,500 and a crystal trophy. Muran is an interactive idea contest designed to stimulate the imagination and lead to the creation and implementation of new ideas.

The Ely brothers invented 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 and move like an inch worm. Describing the machine’s quiet, syncopated rhythm, Mike says, “Its motion is like art.” While in Japan Mike and Eric quickly learned how to say “worm” in Japanese as those who walked by would smile and say “mimizu.”

Although Mike and Eric are back in Battle Creek, Samantha will remain in Japan at a DENSO trade school, where Samantha and other inventions will inspire the imaginations and encourage the creativity of students.

In 2002, Jeff Wetters, also a DMMI associate, placed 3rd place overall in the competition with his “spokeless” bicycle.

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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