Open source DIY crop cultivation machine "FarmBot" which can fully automate all from seeds to watering

ByMike

Things that were conventionally very expensive industrial products such as 3D printers and laser processing machines have appeared one by one as an inexpensive self-made kit with open source. Meanwhile, from home planting to watering, self-made computer controlled machine that fully automates all the work necessary for fostering agricultural crops "FarmBot"Has appeared.

FarmBot | Open-Source CNC Farming
https://farmbot.io/

The state of FarmBot which performs plant cultivation fully automatically from seeding to watering can be confirmed in the following movie.

Meet FarmBot - YouTube


A motor and a machine like a 3D printer or a laser processing machine at first glance.


This is open source "CNC Farming Machine (computer numerically controlled farm machine)"


Injection sucked up plant seeds ... ...


Moving to the soil ......


Pull the tip and pierce the ground and seed it.


From the top, you can see how seeds are planted accurately at regular intervals.


Furthermore, the necessary amount of water was sprayed accurately automatically in the place where the seed was planted. FarmBot is fully automated by controlling by program from seeds to watering.


Buds came out.


Plants that germinated from the soil are individually managed and bred.


Growing plants.


FarmBot can manage all types of different plants at once. It is possible to grow multiple agricultural crops in one field.


You can control FarmBot with a smartphone or laptop.


No programming knowledge required at all, easy specification by simply dragging and dropping the vegetable icon you want to grow into the soil space OK. As you enjoy the simulation game, you can plan a plant development.


If you set the plant you want to raise, FarmBot automatically grows the plant afterwards.


The CAD model and software of FarmBot's hardware are open to the public.


In addition, the site has a guide to guide you how to assemble FarmBot.


Because it is open source, you can also improve hardware & software as you like, as appropriate.


You can create a custom-made home garden according to the size of the garden and the climate of the land.


The operation screen of software of FarmBot is like this.


Software is also open source, so people with knowledge of programming can also adjust to your liking.


The CAD data has also been released, the arm of the main body can be adjusted to a size of 0.5 to 1.5 m in width and 1.5 to 3 m in length, and the maximum cultivated area is 1.4 × 2.9 m.


FarmBot requires computers such as Raspberry Pi 3, Arduino Mega 256, RAMPS 1.4 shield. Other motors and rollers are also available on the market.


Other necessary parts are as follows. Injector that sucks up seeds and winds them on the soil.


Mount for switching tools.


Head for watering.


Weed cutting head etc to remove weeds from roots.


For plastic parts as well, data is provided so that it can be output with a commercial 3D printer.


The necessary metal frame can also be cut by the laser processing machine and made by himself. So, from software to hardware, you can make your own FarmBot.


FarmBot is a fully automatic plant cultivation CNC machine that is made entirely of open source. Not only self-cultivation of vegetables but also gardening and commercial vegetable growing robots, depending on the customization the application range is diverse. The original FarmBot Inc is scheduled to release the basic training kit in July 2016 and is currently accepting reservations.

Since it is open source, there are many room for improvement. For example, using rain water ...


Fine adjustment of the watering schedule by weather forecast information ......


It is proposed to power the power with solar power generation.


Although the price of the basic kit of FarmBot is not announced at the time of article creation, it seems that you can send the latest information from time to time if you register your mail delivery.