FarmBot
Product brand
UnclaimedAn open-source precision-agriculture project combining a Cartesian farming robot, software, documentation, and shared growing data.
Last updated August 22, 2026
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Overview
FarmBot is an open-source precision-agriculture project centered on a computer-controlled Cartesian robot for planting and maintaining crops. Rather than being only a piece of farm machinery, the project combines physical hardware, control software, documentation, and an online repository of crop and growing information. Its stated purpose is to make technology for growing food more open and accessible, allowing individuals, schools, community gardens, and other small-scale growers to automate parts of cultivation without relying on proprietary agricultural systems. The project was started in 2011 by Rory Aronson while he was studying mechanical engineering at California Polytechnic State University. An elective course in organic agriculture introduced Aronson to machine-vision-based weed control and to the high cost of industrial agricultural automation. This experience led him to explore whether a similar concept could be created using comparatively accessible components, open designs, and digital fabrication methods. In March 2014, he began working on FarmBot full-time with support from a Shuttleworth Foundation grant. Firmware developer Tim Evers and software developer Rick Carlino subsequently joined as core contributors. FarmBot's commercial and community structure was developed through Farmbot.io, an entity established to supply hardware kits and software services while helping fund continued development of the open-source project. The project gained visibility through the Hackaday Prize, reaching finalist status in 2015. After multiple design iterations, the first commercially available FarmBot Genesis version entered preorders in July 2016. The FarmBot Genesis is designed to operate across a defined growing area and can support more than 30 crop types in the same space. Its tool system is intended to handle several cultivation tasks before harvest, including sowing seeds, watering, and mechanical weed control. The system can be used outdoors, indoors, or in covered environments, and its software can account for plant age and local weather information when planning activities. A web-based interface enables users to monitor and control the machine remotely from internet-connected devices. A central idea in the FarmBot ecosystem is that the robot should be reproducible and repairable using broadly available parts and maker-oriented manufacturing methods. The Genesis design uses a Cartesian gantry, a universal tool mount, open electronics, and 3D-printed components. The reference architecture described for the system includes a Raspberry Pi 3, an Arduino Mega 2560, a RAMPS 1.4 shield, and a camera. Several tools are designed for production on hobbyist fused-deposition 3D printers, including RepRap-style machines. The software is released under the MIT License and its source code is available through GitHub. FarmBot also uses OpenFarm, an online crop database, to help generate planting plans based on the dimensions of a user's growing area and the expected mature size of crops. This links the physical machine to a shared knowledge layer intended to support planning rather than merely executing manually specified motor movements. The project's open-source approach distinguishes it from conventional agricultural equipment brands: users can inspect the designs, adapt the software, fabricate selected parts, and participate in the surrounding developer and grower community. FarmBot is therefore best understood as both an agricultural robot product family and an open technology project.
History
FarmBot began in 2011 as an engineering and agricultural-automation project created by Rory Aronson while he was studying mechanical engineering at California Polytechnic State University. Aronson's interest was shaped by an organic-agriculture course, where he encountered the concept of a tractor using machine vision to identify weeds and remove them without herbicides or extensive manual labor. The industrial machine he learned about cost more than one million U.S. dollars, prompting the question of whether similar functions could be delivered through a smaller, more accessible, and open design. The early project developed around the idea of a Cartesian coordinate robot that could move tools precisely across a growing bed. Instead of using a conventional tractor platform, FarmBot uses a gantry-like system to position planting, watering, weeding, and sensing tools. The project was intended to be understandable and reproducible by individuals with access to common workshop equipment, open-source electronics, and digital fabrication tools. In March 2014, Aronson began working on FarmBot full-time after receiving a grant from the Shuttleworth Foundation. Firmware developer Tim Evers and software developer Rick Carlino later joined the project as core developers. The project also established Farmbot.io to provide hardware kits and software services. This structure was designed to generate funding for the maintenance and continued development of the open-source community rather than separating commercial hardware entirely from the public project. FarmBot participated in the Hackaday Prize in 2014 and 2015 and became a finalist in 2015. Public iteration through this period helped refine the machine's mechanical architecture, electronics, software, and documentation. After nine design iterations, FarmBot Genesis entered preorders in July 2016. Genesis represented the transition from an experimental open-hardware project to a commercially obtainable kit while retaining the project's open-source orientation. The Genesis system combines a Cartesian robot, interchangeable tools, control electronics, a camera, and web software. The documented electronics stack includes a Raspberry Pi 3 and Arduino Mega 2560 with a RAMPS 1.4 shield. The universal tool mount supports different implements, while several parts are designed to be produced with hobbyist fused-deposition 3D printers such as RepRap-style machines. The design emphasizes the use of accessible components and fabrication processes so that users can reproduce, modify, or repair parts of the system. Software is a major part of FarmBot's identity. Users control the machine through a web interface that supports remote operation from internet-connected devices. The software can schedule and execute planting, watering, and mechanical weed-control operations, while considering factors such as crop maturity and local weather. OpenFarm supplies crop information that can be used to create planting plans based on the dimensions of the user's garden and the expected size of mature plants. The software is released under the MIT License, and project code is made available through GitHub. FarmBot's significance lies in the combination of automation and openness. It applies precision-agriculture concepts to small-scale growing spaces rather than only to industrial farms. The project is intended for home growers, educational settings, community gardens, and other users who want programmable cultivation equipment. The available reference material does not establish a complete corporate ownership history, headquarters location, or detailed current commercial structure, but it presents FarmBot as an ongoing open-source project supported through hardware kits, software services, documentation, and community participation.
- 2016
FarmBot Genesis preorders begin
[1]After nine design iterations, FarmBot Genesis becomes the first commercially available FarmBot version and opens for preorders in July.
- 2015
Hackaday Prize finalist
[1]FarmBot reaches finalist status in the 2015 Hackaday Prize.
- 2014
Full-time development begins
[1]Aronson begins working on FarmBot full-time with support from a Shuttleworth Foundation grant.
- 2014
FarmBot enters the Hackaday Prize
[1]The project participates in the Hackaday Prize as it develops its open agricultural-robotics platform.
- 2011
FarmBot project begins
[1]Rory Aronson starts developing the FarmBot concept while studying mechanical engineering at California Polytechnic State University.
Products and positioning
Open-source, digitally fabricated agricultural automation for home, educational, and community-scale food growing.
Open-source agricultural robot · 2016
FarmBot Genesis
FarmBot Genesis is a Cartesian-coordinate farming machine designed to automate cultivation within a defined growing area. It can support more than 30 crop types in the same space and is intended for indoor, outdoor, and covered environments. Its operations include seed placement, watering, and mechanical weed control, with planning informed by plant age and local weather conditions. The system uses a universal tool mount, open electronics, a camera, and 3D-printable components. It is controlled through a web interface and was designed around reproducible parts and maker-friendly manufacturing methods.
Agricultural-control software
FarmBot web application
FarmBot's web-based control software allows users to plan, monitor, and operate the robot from internet-connected devices. It provides the digital layer for scheduling agricultural actions such as planting, watering, and weed control, and connects crop-planning information with physical machine movements. The software is part of the project's open-source approach and is released under the MIT License.
Crop database and growing-planning resource
OpenFarm
OpenFarm is an online crop database used within the FarmBot ecosystem to support planting plans. Crop information can help the software account for the expected mature size of plants and the dimensions of a user's growing area, enabling multiple crops to be organized within the available space.
Brand decisions
2016
Commercialize the FarmBot Genesis designProduct launchBackground
Following nine design iterations and public development activity, the project sought to make its open agricultural robot available as a product kit.
Action taken
FarmBot began preorders for FarmBot Genesis in July 2016.
Aftermath
Genesis became the first commercially available FarmBot version while retaining the project's open hardware and open software orientation.
2014
Create a funding structure around open-source developmentStrategyBackground
The project needed a way to sustain open hardware, software, documentation, and community work while developing a commercially obtainable machine.
Action taken
Farmbot.io was created to provide hardware kits and software services and to serve as a funding source for maintaining the open-source project.
Aftermath
FarmBot continued developing as a project that combined commercial kit distribution with publicly available designs and software.
Recent events
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