Mobile Device for Mechanical Harvesting of Coffee in Steep Terrain: the Design Process

Coffee harvesting is done by pickers who selectively detach and collect ripe fruits, one by one, making the labor responsible for almost 40% of the production costs. Since Colombian coffee growers are currently suffering a monotonic growing lack of pickers and economical problems derived of the Colombian peso revaluation, efforts to make this economic activity more competitive are welcome. This research work was focused in improving the coffee grower s income by reducing harvesting costs via mechanization. This book presents the structured design methodology followed to develop a mechanical coffee harvesting system accommodating the treacherous terrain of the coffee plantations in Colombia and the technical and environmental aspects considered to meet that goal. The methodology followed the Design for Economic Manufacture Philosophy and utilized tools such as Morphological Charts, for concepts generation, and the Controlled Convergence Technique to select the appropriate technology to be designed and built. The resulting harvesting system was named ERGATIS for the ancient Greek word given to the individuals who harvested agricultural products.