Slashdot Mirror
Open Source Gardening Robot 'FarmBot' Raises $560,000
Slashdot reader Paul Fernhout writes: FarmBot is an open-source gantry-crane-style outdoor robot for tending a garden bed. The project is crowdfunding a first production run and has raised US$561,486 of their US$100,000 goal -- with one day left to go... The onboard control system is based around a Raspberry Pi 3 computer and an Arduino Mega 2560 Microcontroller. Many of the parts are 3D printable.
Two years ago Slashdot covered the genesis of this project, describing its goal as simply "to increase food production by automating as much of it as possible."
Two years ago Slashdot covered the genesis of this project, describing its goal as simply "to increase food production by automating as much of it as possible."
Or am I missing something obvious?
I don't know if it's obvious, but the missing thing is that this won't be the final word in automation of home agriculture.
I remember back when the first PCs came out, and they were rather ridiculous -- the amount of time it required to get them to do anything useful was such that it would almost certainly be easier to accomplish the same task with pen and paper, or with a typewriter.
But a certain type of person was drawn to them anyway, not because they were immediately useful, but because that person wanted explore what was possible and see how much further the ideas could be taken. And now, 40-some years later, we have inexpensive PCs and cell phones that are much more powerful than any other method, to the extent that most people wouldn't even consider handling most problems the "traditional way" as a realistic approach anymore.
Or, as Ben Franklin put it, you might as well ask, "What good is a newborn baby?"
I don't care if it's 90,000 hectares. That lake was not my doing.
this will pick an entire field... certainly smaller options exist, but i doubt the ROI would be worth it - much like this gardening bot...
Obvious question....
Can it grow weed?