In a small home garden, about 1.5 meters wide and 3 meters long, a robotic device called the FarmBot is busy planting vegetable seeds. The FarmBot will control the soil’s moisture, water the seeds and plants, and take out any wild plants or weeds. Rory Aronson is the inventor of the FarmBot and chief executive officer of the company that produces it. He tells VOA who would find the device helpful. “Our ideal customer is somebody who is a maker or a hacker type person who wants to grow their own food but doesn’t have the time.” Aronson says he has been testing the FarmBot in his garden. “We had Swiss chard, arugula, spinach. We also had broccoli, kale, beets, and parsnips. We had 65 plants total and so we got a pretty good amount.” To survive in extreme weather, the FarmBot is made of aluminum, stainless steel and 3D printed plastic. The tools are designed to plant, water and care for each vegetable.
