FarmBot- A Platform for Backyard Precision Farming: Installation and Initial Experimental Layout.

Abstract. FarmBot, a small autonomous farming machine, has been recently acquired by the “Smart Farming” project team at University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) for conducting precision farming field experiments on a small scale. The machine seeds, kills weeds, senses soil moisture levels, and irrigates plants individually over 10 feet by 20 feet area. It is, in essence, a three-axis Cartesian robot quite similar to a 3D printer and runs on Raspberry Pi 3 and Arduino like microprocessor board. It can be easily manipulated using a web application over a smart phone. The Raspberry Pi Camera (Pi-Cam) integrated with the machine can be used for weed detection and time-lapse photography. Food Science and Technology graduate students are working in concert with engineering undergraduates and UMES staff to oversee the installation and preliminary experimental layout. Some of the pitfalls and successes during the installation of both the hardware and software of the mechatronic device will be highlighted in this work. An initial experiment has been planned to study the effects of hydrogel (super absorbent polymer (SAP) on growing small vegetables. SAPs are being used in agriculture as a soil conditioner that utilizes its water holding capacity to reduce frequent irrigation needs. The area (10 by 20 ft) serviced by the machine has been divided to accommodate four levels of hydrogel with two replicates Initial plans of growing turnips with the FarmBot was unsuccessful due to the severity of winter weather. The project team is considering building a hoop house around the FarmBot to extend the growing season. Immediate plans for the project also include powering the FarmBot with solar panels and meeting its irrigation needs through rain water harvesting.