Roto Farm

After discovering the circular form of Roto Farm, we attempted to create the purest and most compact embodiment of this idea. A food growing product should belong in a kitchen, so traditional appliance vocabulary should be followed - ease of use, build quality and most importantly, using as little counter space as possible.

Roto Farm has passed IEC 60335-1 and AS/NZS 60335.1 safety standards and EMC testing. Water is a key part of the product and an external 20V power supply is used for enhanced safety. A heavy duty stainless steel chassis is the combined backbone and heatsink of the product, able to hold the incredible weight of grown, moist plants and Roto Farms rotating plant carousel.

Roto Farm is unique in its category and pushes the high end of the plant growing devices market to new levels. Fresh home-grown produce free from GMOs and pesticides, expiry dates or refrigeration. Roto Farms ultra thin and light Plant Pads are made of sustainable coconut fibre, and considerably more eco friendly to transport compared to refrigerated trucking of farmed vegetables to supermarkets.

Roto Farms solid build quality uses highly recyclable aluminium. Electronics in Roto Farm have been completed to a very high standard and tested for longevity, including the use of large-footprint horticultural OSRAM LEDs rarely seen in a household. The LED grow light can be easily dissembled for repairs or replacement using standard hex screws. An external 100W PD USB-C power adapter may also be easily replaced.

Every functional element - rotation, lighting, water storage and plant attachment, were optimised to the highest level and holistically across the whole device. Designed as a beautiful stand alone object that disappears once its living inhabitants start to grow. Once a user begins harvesting fresh herbs and vegetables the incredible functionality of the product is revealed, with plants that grow fast and plentifully enough for real world food consumption.

User interface and aesthetic hierarchy of the product was informed by the consumer technology world of computers and smartphones, where ultra-optimised UI is at the forefront and nothing is bulkier or more complex than it needs to be.

Roto Farms huge rotating carousel is made of a single part with 18 insert-moulded steel elements that magnetise with each Plant Pad enclosure. Several unique technologies were employed to achieve this level of refinement - a stepper motor with a silent driver that cancels out the typical droning noise with a process called frequency chopping, similar to noise-cancelling headphones.

Large-footprint agricultural LEDs allow greater power efficiency, brightness and the use of a lower number of LEDs than usual. A fan blows directly through an aluminium heatsink and circulates fresh air around plant leaves, encouraging atmospheric elements like nitrogen to enrich plant leaves. Water enters the rotating carousel via a solenoid valve instead of a pump, made silent by inventing a rubber seal to remove the typical clicking noise a solenoid valve makes. A next-generation gallium nitride USB-C power adapter packs 100W in a tiny package.

Roto Farm is ultra easy-to-use with no buttons and one-step planting. Plant Pads are automatically watered through a gravity-fed watering system with no noisy pump, controlled with an onboard CPU that conserves water usage. When water runs low, the grow lights occasionally blink to notify you.

An incredibly compact design neatly contains plants and light, with a large removable 5 litre water tank concealed at the rear. An 8 degree tilt enhances access and visibility of your herbs and vegetables at close distance. Roto Farms zero-gravity rotation system is silent and high-torque (enough to lift heavy plants). Constant rotation moves water around the Plant Pad and continually re-oxygenates plant roots.

The large rotating carousel is formed out of a single part with 18 insert-moulded magnetic elements allowing effortless removal of up to 9 Plant Pads to your cooking area, and reattachment for continued growth. Braided USB-C connects to any 100W PD charger. Ultra-bright "Sun+" lighting supercharges growth speed with a spectrum to enhance plant taste and antioxidant concentration. A groundbreaking circular design is 3x more space-efficient than typical horizontal plant growing devices and a rear-facing grow light to prevent unwanted glare.

Growing food is often perceived as a laborious or learned task that requires patience and technique. The indoor food growing device industry is yet to become mainstream, but by solving the many problems associated with these, Roto Farm removes barriers and makes home food growing fast, easy and joyful.

There are strictly no buttons and there is almost nothing to learn. Seeds are pre-sown into Roto Farms Plant Pads and fertilisation doesnt need to be managed by the user. Even though the water tank is clearly visible, the grow lights flash when water is running low to remind the user and prevent plants from wilting and potentially wasting food.

Roto Farm is made of 35% metal - highly recyclable stainless steel and CNC anodised aluminium. The plants water supply is only in contact with food-safe BPA-free materials and doesnt come into contact with aluminium. Roto Farm even automatically stops rotating and closes water channels in the event it is knocked off a countertop via a built-in accelerometer.

Fresh home-grown produce free from GMOs and pesticides, expiry dates or refrigeration. Ultra thin and light Plant Pads are made of sustainable coconut fibre, considerably more eco friendly to transport compared to refrigerated trucking of farmed vegetables to supermarkets.

When it comes time to remove a Plant Pad, the cover of the Plant Pad enclosure can be effortlessly slid off with geometry that avoids catching on plant stems. Place the pad in compost or even transplant to an outdoor garden.

Roto Farm is a leapfrog product that solves common issues with indoor food growing devices with careful consideration, drawing inspiration from the best consumer electronics products.

Fresh home-grown produce free from GMOs and pesticides, expiry dates or refrigeration. Roto Farms ultra thin and light Plant Pads are made of sustainable coconut fibre, and considerably more eco friendly to transport compared to refrigerated trucking of farmed vegetables to supermarkets.

Roto Farms solid build quality uses highly recyclable aluminium. Families in large households as well as singles in small city apartments can now experience the joy of food growing.