Open-source robotic tools can assist farmers in completing physically demanding or tedious tasks and can help with planning complex planting. Over four years, ROMI will work on the development of three robotic tools: a mechanical weeding robot, an aerial robot for crop monitoring and a 3D scanner for phenotyping in indoor and outdoor environments.
Undertaking research directly in the field means ROMI can develop with the expertise of professional farmers. The efficiency and usability of robotic tools are tested across four seasons at two core sites: Chatelain Maraîchage near Paris and at Valldaura Self-sufficiency Labs near Barcelona. Additional community sites may be used for research as the project develops.
A new generation of farmers are starting small innovative market gardens in rural, peri-urban and urban areas across Europe. These farms often grow polycultures of up to 100 different varieties per year on small surfaces between 0.01 to 5 hectares. Polyculture and organic microfarms are proving to be highly productive, sustainable and economical, yet some of the on-the-ground experiences of farming communities are still unknown. ROMI aims to develop a better understanding of this emerging field through research, events and the development of specialised techniques and tools.
ROMI is an open source, open-hardware project which allows communities to adapt and develop designs to their own needs whilst sharing back to a growing community. Documentation, resources and tools are made public as they become available through output of the four-year ROMI research and development.
The project's output is also made publicly available. The resources currently available are listed on our document page.