FarmBot Genesis: Open Source Platform

Description

The concept behind FarmBot Genesis represents a breakthrough in agricultural technology. As an entirely open-source platform, it empowers educators, students, and innovators to contribute to the future of farming. From customizable CAD models to freely available software codes, Genesis offers limitless possibilities for modification and enhancement.

Versatile Tooling System

The Universal Tool Mounting system of Genesis features electrical connections and magnetic coupling, enabling a range of tasks like seeding, watering, and weeding with a suite of included tools such as a Watering Nozzle, Soil Sensor, Rotary Tool, and Seed Injector.

Customizable and Expandable & Educational Value

With the FarmBot Genesis, you’re not just purchasing a product; you’re embracing a platform that grows with your needs. The system’s modularity and open-source design mean you can expand and adapt it to your specific gardening challenges.

Over 500 schools and universities have integrated FarmBot Genesis into their curricula, using it as a hands-on educational tool to teach a variety of STEM topics, including robotics, biology, and environmental science.

With a vision in 2011, Rory Aronson started working on creating a new product to improvise conventional farming methods. As a result of this hard work , the end product was the FarmBot. The robot is available as ready to assemble kit which can be easily put together using videos and documentation available on the official website: Discover the website.

FarmBot Kit

The kit consists of smartly selected parts which can sustain the extreme weather conditions. The primary structural elements made from Aluminium, also act as tracks to provide 3D movement. Furthermore, made from aluminium alloys, Brackets and connecting plates undergo the process of sandblasting, polishing and anodizing to obtain better looks and sustainability.

An open source Arduino Mega board and a top notch brain in form of Raspberry Pi 2,  together form the processing unit of the robot. The main advantage of this technology lies in the fact that it is open source. A large open source community of engineers, researchers and people from all domain makes the working easy for the layman. The robot gets its drive from four Nema 17 stepper motors which has a 1.7 inch x 1.7 inch faceplate and 12V, 1.68A current drawing capacity. Alongside this major electronics, other things include 29A, 12 V power supply (accepts both 110V and 220V) ,5V power adapter, RAMPS Shield ,Soil Sensor ,Solenoid valve ,Vacuum pump,Camera and various other cables and connecting wires to connect the circuit.

Carbon Footprint & Environmental Impact

The figure above clearly shows that FarmBot vegetables release lesser amount of Carbon dioxide compared to the veggies bought from stores. By optimizing water and resource usage, FarmBot Genesis not only improves efficiency but also minimizes its carbon footprint, contributing to a more sustainable agricultural practice.

Technical Specifications

• Max machine area: 1.5m x 3m
• Max plant height: 0.5m
• Watering Nozzle, Soil Sensor, Rotary Tool, Seed Injector included
• Customizable tool support with Universal Tool Mount

Features like Drag and drop farming, and crop growth scheduler allows customizing sequence for the period of plant growth. Furthermore, a real time operation using smartphone gives a manual control whenever necessary. Additionally, these features help farmers to choose the vegetables to be planted and their area of  plantation with greater ease through their website or personal smartphones.

It is a definite masterpiece and with generosity of people at FarmBot, it is available as an open source platform. This shall open a completely new dimension in area of Precision farming and Agtech. Lastly, it will allow the researcher and farmers to come and contribute for better agriculture and a better future.