Description:

As a young designer with a strong tie to rural New Zealand, I chose to centre this project around benefiting our nations farming community. Through researching topical issues in the farming sphere, it didn’t take long to determine that there is a pressing need to address the prevalence of rural crime in our country. Due to the isolated nature of many rural properties, and the time it takes for authorities to reach these areas once alerted, these farms become easy targets for criminals.

Through interviewing key project stakeholders, and extensive secondary research, I learned that in the majority of cases, these criminals enter through gateways. Therefore, based on these findings I decided to design a product or device which would deter these criminals, hence drastically reducing the prevalence of rural crime in our country.

The product which I designed is a device that farmers can fix to the post on the latch side of gateways on the boundary of their property. The current gate latch is removed and replaced with a tough rubberized strap with a loop at one end. Inside the strap is two lengths of braided wire rope for cut resistance and strength. On one face of the strap is a stainless-steel ratchet texture, which grips on a ratcheting arm inside the device ensuring quick and easy latching of the gate and firm security when closed.

The device itself is a simple rectangular shape with minimalist subtle design features. A slight chamfer to help guide the strap when inserting, a rounded top surface to stop water pooling, and a square over molded silicone button on the front to disengage the ratchet arm and release the strap when depressed. Inside the device is a pin driven by a solenoid which physically locks the internal mechanism restricting the ability to press the release button.

A farmer implementing this technology on their farm would install multiple devices along their property boundary. Each device can be connected to an app which allows full control of access to their property in real time. Additionally, specific access times can be scheduled to automatically unlock the perimeter before working hours and lock it at the end of each day, ensuring security outside work hours and seamless use by staff during the day. Access by staff during out of hours is possible through the app simply by swiping their phone on the device to unlock it. Each device is powered by a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, and its status, along with the activity history of the gateway, is displayed clearly in the associated app.
My learnings and growth throughout this project were a fantastic stepping stone to where I am now. Many challenges were carefully considered, particularly around the inner workings of the product and refining them to a sufficient level of plausibility, because in the end, this is still only a concept. However given the time frame, I believe the product idea and associated system proves a compelling solution to a genuine problem.