[bglazer]

I can't read the whitepaper due to work network restrictions (scribd? really?) but superficially this seems more directed towards DIY-er gardener types rather than industrial farming. That is to say, people who have no need for a giant combine harvester.

For that purpose it seems to have the capability to automate some tedious jobs quite nicely. I would pay for a machine that grows vegetables in my backyard with little to no input from me.

That said, the possum remover must be the most hilariously bad job in farming.

[keenerd]

They've probably fixed the possum thing by now :-)

Your comment makes me wonder what a good pricepoint would be for such a system. How much money and how much space would you be willing to give up, for example.

Less hypothetically, why the fixation on machines? We've got all sorts of crazy services these days. How much would you be willing to pay for a gardening service that maintains your garden for you and occasionally leaves a crate of produce at your backdoor? It would be like a lawn service, but without all the terrible effects on the local ecology.

[wiredfool]

I let kale and chard go to seed last year. I've had more kale and chard this year than I can harvest. Almost all of it volunteer. Also some other random greens that make a quite nice salad.

On the other hand, I've put in a ton of effort on tomatoes, and gotten very little to show for it. The climate just isn't friendly to them.