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Ingredient

FarmBot Genesis

Also known as: FarmBot, FarmBot Genesis XL, FarmBot Express

Open-source CNC-style farming robot — a 3-axis gantry that moves a tool-head over a fixed raised bed (1.5 m × 3 m for Genesis, 3 m × 6 m for Genesis XL) and executes seeding, watering, weeding, soil-sensing, and imaging tasks programmatically. Hardware: aluminum extrusion frame, NEMA 17 steppers on belts, an interchangeable Universal Tool Mount (UTM) for swappable end-effectors, a Raspberry Pi for software. Software: FarmBot OS (the Pi runs it), a web app for plant-and-task management, a sequence editor for procedural automation. Open hardware (CERN-OHL-W) and open software (MIT). The clearest example in the open-source farming pantry of a complete vertically-integrated farm-robotics product.

Architecture

  • Frame: aluminum-extrusion gantry over a fixed raised bed
  • Motion: [[stepper-motor|NEMA 17]] steppers on belts (X, Y, Z); homing and bed-mapping sequences
  • Tools: Universal Tool Mount accepts seeder, watering nozzle, soil sensor, weeder, camera
  • Brain: [[raspberry-pi|Raspberry Pi]] running FarmBot OS (open-source); communicates with cloud-or-self-hosted web app
  • Power: 24V DC; 60–100 W typical operating draw

Solves / unlocks

  • Per-plant watering (each plant gets its species-and-age-appropriate volume)
  • Precision seeding (drill, drop, cover at exact spacing per crop)
  • Mechanical weeding (probe targeting non-crop pixels in the bed image)
  • Programmatic [[crop-rotation|crop rotation]] (the bed plan persists in the web app; the robot executes it)
  • Daily imaging (overhead photos for growth tracking and disease detection)
  • Soil-sensor sampling at programmable points

Constraints

  • Fixed bed only — Genesis can’t move beyond its frame footprint; not for field crops.
  • Cost — $3000+ for a Genesis kit; $5000+ for Genesis XL. Cheaper to assemble a Pi + steppers DIY for the same coverage if you already have the parts.
  • Tool-change is manual on Genesis — XL has slot-based auto-tool-change.
  • Slow — gantry-over-bed motion is precise but not fast; one bed cycle takes hours.
  • Outdoor weather exposure — electronics need an enclosure; belts wear in dust.

Source

See also

Auto-generated from this entry’s typed relations: frontmatter, grouped by relation type so the editorial signal isn’t flattened.

  • Parallels: [[acorn-rover]]
  • Member of: [[ingredient]]
  • Combines with: [[raspberry-pi]] · [[stepper-motor]] · [[solenoid-valve]] · [[capacitive-soil-moisture-sensor]] · [[beaglebone-black]]

What links here, and how

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Practical

parallels

  • Acorn rover Acorn is mobile rover; FarmBot is fixed-bed CNC — complementary form factors

combines with

  • BeagleBone Black the FarmBot Genesis project used BBB as its CNC controller in early versions
  • Stepper motor FarmBot uses NEMA 17 steppers on all three axes

contains

4 inbound links · 7 outbound