Do you know how it REALLY works? Scale.
GrowBot can hold and take care of aproximately 70 plants. With the right conditions 70 plants growing hydroponicly can easily produce a big salad and more everyday.
How much do you pay for a salad? Not just iceberg lettuce but a salad of tender lettuce, kale, chard, various herbs. If that salad was grown in a GrowBot then it cost less than a dollar. How much time did you spend getting the salad? If you have a GrowBot probably less than 5 minutes.
And GrowBot can pay for itself in just a few months with the money you'll be saving on groceries!
How GrowBot Came To Be
Help Us Make A Dent In The Universe
"We're here to put a dent in the universe. Otherwise, why else even be here?" - Steve Jobs
At GrowBot, our mission is to ensure that every human has access to real, affordable food. While this Indiegogo campaign is the start of a long journey to that end, you'll help us get a huge head start.
We don't understand why it needs to be so expensive to feed you and your family fresh, organically grown food, so we've set out to change the game. The uses for GrowBot are almost limitless. As more people experiment with growing various fruits, vegetables and herbs, GrowBot's brain will become better and better by using the collective intelligence of the GrowBot community.
Team GrowBot
James Brake | Creator, Product and Technical Implementation
With over twenty years of experience in building complex manufacturing and backend systems, James' desire to feed his family healthy food on a reasonable budget led him to create the original GrowBot. His creativity and ingenuity have propelled GrowBot to the global scale that it's now capable of.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
1. What is GrowBot?
GrowBot is a garden robot that uses Plant Recognition Technology and Artificial Intelligence to help you grow fresh, organic food easily. It’s like having an affordable, organic garden in your backyard without the work!
2. What is Plant Recognition Technology?
The camera and BotBrain onboard your GrowBot use facial recognition software to recognize certain features of each plant. Once the plants in your garden have been identified, BotBrain decides if they’re healthy, how to feed them and how to water them.
3. What does the Artificial Intelligence (AI) do?
If your BotBrain doesn’t recognize a plant in your garden, it notifies GrowBot’s Mother Brain. A Plant Specialist on our team will then step in to identify the new kid on the block.
As more GrowBots come online, the Mother Brain is continuously gathering information to learn about more plants in less time. Like all good mothers, she will pass along this new information to her children (aka your Bot).
4. What do I have to do on a regular basis?
Not much :-) You get to do the fun stuff of planting, picking and nurturing your plants with love each day. To set it up, you simply connect a water supply, plant seeds and fill the plant food. After that, GrowBot’s intelligence will take over and let you know what you need to do and when.
5. How does GrowBot let me know what's going on?
Your GrowBot will be connected to the GrowBot Network in order to provide you with updates, photos and other notifications. You can choose which notifications to receive via the GrowBot smartphone app and/or email.
Here are some things that GrowBot can notify you about:
- Refill the plant food
- Plant seeds or starters
- Remove germination cups
- Harvest your food
- Remove plants that are finished
About once every six months, GrowBot will also remind you to rinse the planter troughs and clean the circulation pump filters. We designed the troughs to be easy-to-clean and require as little effort from you to maintain as possible.
6. Does GrowBot require WiFi?
It does require wifi.
7. How big is GrowBot?
GrowBot is approximately 46 inches long, 24 inches wide and 35 inches tall - about the size of your average coffee table. The dimensions may change slightly as we refine the design prior to going into full manufacturing.
8. How much does GrowBot weigh?
- Shipping weight: 40 lbs
- Assembled with plants & water: ~ 70+ lbs (depending on what's planted)
9. How many plants can GrowBot hold?
GrowBot can hold between 60 and 80 plants, depending on what you decide to plant -- 52 plants that grow directly in water and 8 to 30 plants that have more robust root needs or don't thrive in water.
10. What can I grow in GrowBot?
The possibilities are nearly endless. We've found that it works best when you plant at least a few plants that are continuous producers, that way you can have a steady supply of food. However, it's all up to you! As more people use GrowBot, they can share what has been working best for them through the GrowBot Network.
We have grown: carrots, beets, strawberries, kale, chard, broccoli, fennel, bok choi, lettuce, spinach, tatsoi, cucumbers, watermelon, pumpkin, squash, celery, cilantro, parsley, basil, chayote, tomatoes, eggplant, bell peppers, jalapeños, mustard greens, green onions, turmeric, ginger and garlic.
11. What kind of plant food should I use?
You will be able to use many different sources for your nutrients so you can get what best fits your needs! We suggest compost teas and other well-rounded nutrient formulas. People are excited to even try incorporating worm bins and fish tanks! Don’t worry, we’ll be guiding you as much as you’d like - we already have plans for video courses on DIY fertilizers and teas.
We have most recently been using Botanicare Pure Blend Tea. We like ‘teas’ made from organic/natural sources. We have also had very good results from General Hydroponics MaxiGro and are presently testing out a mix of the two.
12. What about bugs and disease?
While you can use mild, organic, insecticidal soaps, a better solution is to use permaculture techniques such as smart planting, planting in certain seasons, utilizing beneficial insects and other natural insect/pest controls For example, did you know that both cilantro and marigolds work as pest control just by having them growing in your garden?
Just like in humans, many diseases in plants are caused by poor nutrition. So, as long as your plants are healthy, they should do a pretty good job of holding their own against the occasional pest. As GrowBot’s Mother Brain matures, it will learn the specifics of each plant and will help you plant wisely, making suggestions about which plants work symbiotically together and which ones should probably not be grown together.
13. What do you feed GrowBot?
Many liquid fertilizers and or tea's will do great. We use a tea derived from seaweed and bird quano.
14. When will I get my GrowBot?
When you purchase your GrowBot we will let you know immidiately when it will be built and shipped or just shipped if we have some in stock.
15. I would like a GrowBot, but I don't have the money for one. What can I do?
Who do you know that would benefit from having a GrowBot? Our referral program allows you the ability to earn yourself a GrowBot!
16. Why be sustainable?
We want to leave a better and healthier planet for generations to come. GrowBot was created in part to reduce food waste and take steps toward easing the impact of conventional food systems on the environment. But we decided that we shouldn’t stop there.
Not only have we sourced as many eco-friendly materials as we can for the making of your GrowBot, but we also want to make up for any emissions created in the production and distribution process.
For every GrowBot purchased, we are donating $10 to Trees for the Future. They are a non-profit organization dedicated to “improving the livelihoods of impoverished farmers by revitalizing degraded lands.” They’ve planted 115 million trees since 1989. Each and every GrowBot purchased will directly result in 100 trees being put in the ground.
17. What are GrowBot's Tech Specs?
- Raspberry Pi b+
- Camera
- 3 x 6v 200ma solar cells and 1 x 9v 100ma solar cell
- 7.2v 16,800 mAh Nimh battery pack
19. What can I do with BotBrain?
You get the intelligence that makes GrowBot one of a kind - the computer, camera, pumps and valves. What we ship to you will help get your personal hydroponics or aquaponics system fully automated!
20. Will you have an API?
Yes! We encourage developers and tinkerers to build third party products and applications for use with GrowBot.
21. Do you have a warranty on GrowBot?
Yes, we have a one-year parts warranty.
22. What if I want to return my GrowBot?
If you return your GrowBot within the first 90 days of receiving it, we’ll refund your purchase. Return shipping is not included.
23. What if I have problems setting up my GrowBot or need technical support?
We’ve made GrowBot user-friendly and simple-to-use, but with over 20 years of collective experience in customer service, we know that sometimes you need a little more assistance. That’s why we will have someone available to help you over the phone and or online.
Contact
If you have further questions, or for press inquiries, please reach out to us at
james@mygrowbot.com.
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