FarmBot Genesis - humanity's first open-source CNC farming machine

When presented with the current food production system one cannot look past how broken it is. We have surrendered our knowledge and control over how our food is being produced, and as a result we are destroying our health and the environment. It's a shame.
We're here to change that. Three years ago I had an idea for a new paradigm of food production. The idea lies at the intersection of automation, the open-source DIY maker movement, and small-scale polycrop farming. And over the last three years a small dedicated team and I have been working to make this idea a reality.
Introducing FarmBot Genesis, humanity's first open-source CNC farming machine. FarmBot moves around in the XYZ space day and night, 7 days a week, growing food for you, just the way you want it to be grown. FarmBot precisely sows seeds in any pattern and density you want, and then waters them efficiently the exact amount that each plant needs based on its type, its age, soil conditions, the local weather, and your growing preferences. FarmBot can grow a wide variety of crops all in the same area at for individually in an optimized, automated way. By growing many types of plants at once your garden will benefit from the natural advantages of polycropping and crop rotation, while you and your family gain from a healthy and varied diet.
Using the onboard camera and advanced computer vision software, FarmBot diligently monitors your garden, detects weeds as soon as they emerge, and then buries them under the soil. With the soil sensor, FarmBot can show you how your garden changes over time enabling smarter, more efficient farming with each passing season. With FarmBot your garden will flourish, your plants will thrive, and you will gain access to fresh food grown right in your backyard with the practices that you believe in.
You control and configure FarmBot using a powerful web-based interface, so no coding is required to grow food. With the sequence builder and scheduler, you combine the most basic operations of FarmBot into custom sequences for seed injection, watering, and even whole regimens for taking care of a plant throughout its life.
The drag-and-drop farm designer allows you to graphically design the layout of your plants for a game-like experience that's fun, fast, and easy. You simply press the synchronize button and FarmBot does the rest.
FarmBot hardware is designed for easy assembly and modification. With the included tools you will assemble FarmBot to a size that suits your needs. And because everything is made from corrosion resistant aluminum, stainless steel, and 3D printed plastic, your FarmBot will work for years out in the elements. We spent months prototyping the universal tool mounting system, allowing FarmBot to automatically switch tools for the task at hand. It provides 12 electrical connections, three liquid or gas lines, and magnetic coupling to support any tool you can imagine.
So far we've developed the seed injector, watering nozzle, soil sensor, and weeding tools to cover the basics of food production. FarmBot's core electronics include the Raspberry Pi computer, the Arduino MEGA microcontroller, and a RAMPS shield. Combined with powerful NEMA 17 stepper motors and rotary encoders, tools are reliably positioned within millimeter accuracy. And our flexible hardware and software platform is ready for you to modify and expand upon FarmBot's abilities. Want to design your own tools?
Go right ahead! Need FarmBot to control lights? That's easy. Inspired to go off grid with solar power and collected rain?
It's already been done and we can show you how to do it. And the most important feature of all is that FarmBot is 100% open-source. All of our software, hardware plans, 3D CAD models, and documentation is free for you to download and improve on.
We've written step-by-step assembly instructions, documented past versions of the hardware, and even set up a community wiki and forum for collaboration. In the last year alone, we've seen independent replications of FarmBot all across the globe by teams and individuals and companies small and large. Now we want you to join us.
We're looking for inventors, garage tinkerers, hackers, and DIY food enthusiasts to dive in with us and help grow this exciting new technology platform. FarmBot Genesis is 1.5 meters wide and 3 meters in length; it's perfect for getting started in a small space. The kit is fully weatherproof and can be placed outdoors, in a greenhouse, or even on a rooftop.
With your support, we'll be able to manufacture and distribute these kits at an affordable price, continue building software futures, and openly research and develop FarmBot technology with you. Pre-order your FarmBot today and help pioneer this new paradigm of farming.
It's time, to own your food.

Via farmbot.io
Files: CAD, software on Github
Docs: soft, hardware