It’s no secret. Trying to grow fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs at home is extremely difficult.
You have...
...and oh yeah, you probably have even...
It’s really no wonder that most people who try to eat fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs at home give up.
But the truth is...
GrowBot is a garden robot that uses Plant Recognition Technology and Artificial Intelligence to help you grow fresh, organic food EASILY!
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
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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.
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Greg Horn | Business Development and Marketing Strategy
An entrepreneur with experience in start-up strategy, crowdfunding and business development across a variety of industries, Greg's vision for the future and empathy for others drive everything that he does. He is at home while traveling and loves idea jamming to develop creative solutions for problems.
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Krysta Carmack | Marketing and Public Relations
Krysta is a writer, marketer and serial entrepreneur with a passion for helping others share their life's work with the world. She is most excited about projects that aim to make the world a better place and takes every opportunity to work with and learn from high-level professionals and thought leaders.
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Vanessa DeCouto | Videography, Photography and Media
Vanessa DeCouto has a real knack for traveling by the seat of her pants with a camera in hand, especially while eating, growing, cooking, and foraging great food along the way. As a full time artist, part time farmer, and life long explorer, she hopes to use creativity to help feed the world so that anyone and everyone can have time to stop and smell the roses.
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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 not require wifi, but you won’t really be getting the full GrowBot experience unless your Bot is online. Everything will still work just fine and your plants will be happy and healthy, but you won’t get notifications or photos from your Growbot. Occasionally, you will also need to bring an iPhone or Android to GrowBot so that it can upgrade itself with the latest software.
7. How big is GrowBot?
GrowBot is approximately 42 inches (107 cm) long, 24 inches (61 cm) wide and 35 inches (89 cm) 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: ~ 50 - 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. I don't have the ability to put GrowBot outside. What is different on IndoorBot?
IndoorBot has a Grow Light attachment that allows you to use GrowBot inside. Your Grow Lights provide the light that your plants need to fuel photosynthesis the way the Sun normally would. You’ll still have the solar panels, so you’ll have the ability to bring your Bot in and out, as needed.
14. If you don't reach your funding goal, is my purchase price refundable?
Absolutely. If we don’t reach our goal of $75,000, you’ll get your entire purchase price refunded.
15. When will I get my GrowBot?
We will begin shipping GrowBot in Spring of 2016 on a first-come, first-served basis. Therefore, the sooner you order your Bot, the sooner you’ll get it. Your support will allow us to test additional designs in order to deliver you the best GrowBot possible. With the time it takes to finalize designs and then manufacture, we want to ensure that we deliver exactly what we promise.
16. 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!
17. How does the referral program work?
Simply share your unique referral link with everyone that you can! Each week during the campaign, we are going to be awarding a free GrowBot to the referrers who’ve generated the most contributions!
18. How does the rebate program work?
Once you’ve pre-ordered a Bot, share your unique referral link with friends and family. For every Bot purchased through your link, we’ll give you a $50 rebate! If eight Bots are purchased through your referral link, yours is free!
19. How do I get my unique referral link?
On your computer, make sure you’re logged into your Indiegogo account. If you see your name in the top right corner of this page, you’re logged in. If not, click ‘Log In’ or ‘Sign Up’. Once you’re logged into your account, either simply copy the URL in the address bar of your browser or click “Link” on the left side of this page. You can also simply use the Facebook and Twitter share buttons on the left side of the page to post/tweet your referral link directly. Now go ahead and share your link!
Unfortunately the referral link can only be retrieved using the desktop version of the Indiegogo site, not mobile.
20. What's with your obsession about being 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.
21. What are GrowBot's Tech Specs?
- Raspberry Pi b+
- 5MP Camera
- 3 x 6v 200ma solar cells and 1 x 9v 100ma solar cell
- 7.2v 16,800 mAh Nimh battery pack
22. 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!
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