Hi, my name is Neoli Das from Silicon Valley and this is the first blog on my experience building an open-source programming supported robot that can produce and take care of vegetable gardens(2).
There are three subject areas motivated me to initiate this journey:
- World Hunger
- Agriculture
- Artificial Intelligence and Robotics
Figure One:
From my grandmother’s garden
1 of every 10 people around the world experiences chronic hunger(1). That is 11 percent (815 million out of 7.58 billion people) of the world suffering every day, unable to imagine that having food on their plates would ever become a daily reality. As the STEM world has advanced in Artificial Intelligence and robotics to automate many processes such as in medical diagnostics, industrial manufacturing and beyond, I wanted to see if I could ever solve the massive issue of world hunger by using STEM and my passion for robotics.
First sighting of the FarmBot
Ever since I was a little girl, I have always loved cooking and farming with my Ma and Baba. My mother and I work in our garden every morning taking care of our flowers and vegetables. Although it is very tiring to do so in the early mornings, this is what bonded us together. As well as, my Baba and I would cook the vegetables from our own garden keeping us healthy with its natural nutrients and free of chemicals.
I still remember my father buying me Legos and small amateur robot kits as gifts when I was younger. Fortunately, building these throughout the years led me to construct a real advanced robot like FarmBot.
Figure Three:
First unboxing of the FarmBot
As I am older now and have gained little experience over time in agriculture and robotics, my father found FarmBot and he was certain that I will be able to construct this robot with its included instructions, tools and electronics. Being only thirteen at the time, when all the boxes and the tool kit arrived at our house, I was pretty nervous to see such elaborate equipment that I have never heard or seen of. However, I knew this was a challenge I had to take.
And that’s where it all began. I hope you come with me to an experience of a lifetime where I walk you through the mistakes I made, how I learned from them, and overall how I was able to build a complex robot-the FarmBot.
Acknowledgements:
1. FarmBot
