Object details
| Designer / Studio | David Soche; company mentor: Martin Steffner |
| University | TU Delft |
| Key features | Ergonomic weeding; AI vision pest scouting; shareable modules |
| Award | EPDA 2026 Top Design, Industrial / Farming: Tractors (Student) |
| Explore the design | Behance |
Farm machinery has grown with the size of farms. The largest tractors suit industrial agriculture, leaving small farms with tools that are either too big or too basic.
CropKit, a smart micro-tractor by Austrian designer David Soche at TU Delft, is designed for those smaller farms. It received a Top Design distinction for tractors in the 2026 European Product Design Award student programme.
Soche frames the project against a stark trend: he notes that Europe has lost more than half of its small farms in ten years, along with biodiversity, healthy soils and rural resilience.
CropKit eases daily work. It supports ergonomic weeding that reduces physical strain, and offers advanced features such as AI-based visual pest scouting.
Its modules can be shared, so the machine grows in function and intelligence as a farm’s needs develop.
Developed in close collaboration with farmers, CropKit is designed to empower people rather than replace them, and to offer a real alternative to large-scale industrial farming.
View CropKit on the European Product Design Award winner’s page →
Image: David Soche. Company mentor: Martin Steffner.
