Industrial Design Forum

Hey everyone, have finally got round to posting my major up. For those unaware, I am developing an animal trap for use in pest eradication, focusing on small mammal eradication (Stoats and rats). My primary interest in this came from an experience at the beginning of the year going on a trapping expedition up Mt Taranaki. The inquisitive industrial designer in me saw an opportunity to address user issues in the current trap designs, so I jumped into it and started revealing the deeper issues associated with trapping and eradication for the purposes of restoring biodiversity in New Zealand.
The three main methods of pest eradication in New Zealand are trapping, poisoning and biological control, with trapping being the most preferred method of eradication by the New Zealand public. Poisoning by way of toxin is a very effective method of eradication, however issues arise with secondary poisoning of native species and toxins leaching into groundwater. Biological control has the potential to be the most effective method, however ethical restrictions currently prohibit feild trials and public opinion is particularly hostile

Just a little fact for the unaware:
New Zealand had a Kiwi population numbering in the millions only 200 years ago, by 2003 this figure was closer to 70000. The two significant contributing factors to this decline are habitat loss and predation. Approximately 70% of kiwi chicks are killed by stoats and occasionally cats before the age of six months.

The research and development undertaken related to the current issues surrounding predator control techniques in New Zealand and the ways in which Industrial Design influence can add efficiency to these techniques and the processes undertaken. Presently volunteers and community groups make up approximately 2/3 of the operators of traps in operations that have Kiwi outcomes, the percentages may be similair for other operations also. Labour is presently the highest cost to any given trapping operation, even with a relatively high proportion of volunteers. It is my hope that a well-designed trap may entice more volunteers and reduce the intimidation of operating trapping equipment.

Due to the nature of the product and its publicly accessable nature, it was deemed important that the product address areas of concern to members of the public in a careful, considerate and professional manner.

The critical tasks identified with the users were; operating traps (setting, clearing, baiting), viewing traps, and distributing traps.

Heres my design criteria as at the end if the Research and Development paper:

- Appearance/Identification
Minimum visual complexity
Professional appearance
Minimum reflection on the killing of animals
Relevant aesthetic to environment
Provision for operator to place identification information on the trap
Clearly identify if trap has been triggered
Show affiliation with native species protection

- Human Interaction
Easily cleaned internal components
Clearly identifiable controls
Logical operation sequences
Safe for the operator to use
Safe for public/non-users
Easy to replace bait
Easy removal of dead animal

- Transportability
Portable
Ability for distributor to carry multiple traps
Flat-packable design
Light-weight

- Animal Interaction
Humane kill
Bait well protected from external environment
Bait well presented to animal
Modifiable non-target animal exclusion/variable entrance size
Orientate the animal appropriately into the trap
Let light into the trap to aid with attracting the animal
Resist tampering from other pest species

- Technical function/materials
Long life-cycle
Easily manufacturable
Robust
Minimum number of components
Consistent operation
Easy clean
Minimum of four kills per servicing interval
Closed off from ground

This criteria has remained largely unchanged, I will update it in the coming week to show how my concepts have/have not addressed the issues. In the very initial stages I was envisioning a self-resetting self clearing device, however I deemed it too difficult a task to undertake in the scope of this year, and I did not want to be bogged down in a kind of technical/inventive/engineering project.

Any and all thoughts welcome, this has been a relatively difficult project from a design perspective as there is next to no-one who has addressed design in this area, it has been very rewarding though.


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Sorry, I should have explained the how the concepts work. The basic idea is single foot-operated trap and enclosure unit, which can be clipped together in various configurations depending on the density of pests present in the area (1-6 units per station). The 'wedges' in between the traps allow this adaptability. The bait is placed in the cavity formed in the centre of all the traps (1 bait per station-bait is also a cost and must be replaced regularly). The storyboard shows a user scenario, the foot-pedal flicks up when the trap is triggered off and hits a flap on the top of the trap which tells the trapper there is a capture. The trap can be collapsed down for transportation. The signage is intended to go on the side of the trap. This still needs work, also exploration as a general trap not used in DOC operations (ie private, council, forest and bird, BNZ etc). Chur

Sweet, its nice to see how this came out, have been looking at the mechanism for a while, but hadn't really caught up on the aesthetics.

increasing the number of traps per bait sounds pretty cool. i reckon you have it pretty nailed, as well as the simple aesthetic of the thing, makes it not look like a toy.

Is the setup time much of an issue for these guys? (when they initially put the stations in?) i assume its not really, considering they probably just walked for a while to get there.

Nice stuff.

Nick!
Wicked sketches and renders! I've just jotted down a whole list of things to give comment on but I just wanted to know first off which of the concepts you are thinking of going with and why. Also can you comment on the styling/shape/details etc and why you've gone in that direction. I just want to understand what you are doing better so that I can give more useful feedback. Off to class now so will get back to you later in the afternoon.
Em xx

Hey Doug, cheers for the feedback bro. Setup time is not too much of an issue as its a very infrequent task compared with the actual servicing of the traps. However, it still needs to be considered as if it took like 20 minutes to set up one station, then there would be a problem. Lyn did make a comment about the current aesthetic being a little like a garden product, this is not yet finalised so a little more development here to go.

Emma!
cheers dude. the concept is heading towards the one shown in the first render. The aesthetic styling of it is based on the fact that it has to fit the trap mechanism itself, it is injection moulded in one peice and then folded into that form, once it is assembled it can be crushed into a flat form for transportation/distribution; the detailing on the front is basically styling (still unresolved) but also is modifyable by simply cutting more of the 'grass' away to make the opening bigger for different species, i put the slope on there to make it look cool! I will post up some pics of the mechanism and how it flat-packs and unfolds so you get the jist. Look forward to your comments!
ill also throw some pics up of the signage I intend to put on the side of the trap.

Hey Nick,

Thanks for the clarifiaction........Right, do the traps need to be fully enclosed or could they have open planes/detailing so that at a glance you can see there is an animal in it? I know that you have designed in a flap that goes up when the trap is set off - however maybe having open bits could be interesting in terms of styling.

I like it that the face is slanted - it almost seems that it is like that to encourage or lead the animals in.

I wonder whether or not the unit itself could be more curved and organic reflecting the surrounding natural environment. Having curved walls will also add strength and rigidity to the product.

Have you figured out the way that they pin to the ground yet? I think you could have real fun with figuring out a really interesting system for that............it's really hard giving feedback without actually having a discussion! I hope this is of use to you Nick!

I'm wondering whether or not it is something which needs to be grabs and moved without having to fold it all down. Therefore is there a need to have handles on the side of it?

Going back to the styling thing it could be interesting to used 'embossed' type patterns on the traps too..........

That's my lot! I hope it is of use to you! Let me know what you think. xxE

nick have u thought about including information on the side of the product like how many front rungs to rip off for what animals. maybe a ruler so u can messeaure the size of animals?

i'm nt sure i agree with lyn about the grills making it look like a graden product, they give it an identity that asociates it with nature.

when the dead animals are thrown away what happens to them? wouldn;t they just get eaten by other stoats? is there some way you can stop them becoming food?

Hey Em, this is awesome, just the sort of critique I hoped for!
The idea of having open parts to see inside may be a possible avenue to explore, however it is important that a dead animal isnt blatantly presented for all to see, although they are undesirable pests, there is still a proportion of people whom don't like this kind of 'killing of the cute little animals', hence my responce to this is rebrading the product as a conservation product, not a killing product.  I really would like the form to be a little more organic, for the exact reasons you suggest, however to acheive this and still get the same level and type of functionality is difficult - I am still working on this though and it may come down to details which help reflect this. I'm also going to look into how the traps fit (or nest) together for tranportation and whether they may be able to be carried in multiples by hand. I played with an embossed type image on the side, for some reason the pics of the mechanism and the branding arent shown, I will post them again. thanks for the help Em, it is quite difficult when you can't just have a yarn and get a better grasp of the product. Cheers!

Eddy! The idea of how many lugs to rip off for what animal sounds awesome, definately something I will look into, same with the ruler. Chrs bro. I was no sure about the garden product thing either, however the aesthetic still needs refinement, this will ensure that it is a product more associated with conservation than cauliflower!
The animals are simply thrown in the bush, alot of the time they are quite decayed so not much touches them, however it is better that a stoat eats them rather than eating another native bird!

heres the mechanism and signage for the side of the enclosure.[attachment=151][attachment=150]

Great renderings, Nick.

A few thoughts. Would other possums be detered from entering if one of the traps already held a manky old decaying one? I know they are ruthless little buggers, but must have a fairly strong survival instinct. Could you obscure the scent somehow?

Could you somehow 'bag' the possum when it enters, so you could use the fur if not too decayed, or at least carry it away in the bag and throw it out in a suitable offal pit etc. (recycling the bag, obviously)? I imagine a few volunteers might be slightly squeamish, this is making the whole process a bit more attractive.

I don't think it reads too strongly as a garden device, making it an overall olive / brown might change the semantics quite significantly.