There are many reasons you might want to add a webcam to your FarmBot. Here are a few:

  • To watch FarmBot move from work, inside your house, or across the world
  • To show FarmBot off to your friends
  • To take photos each day for timelapse photography of your plants growing
  • To supplement a security system against vandals or animals
  • To make sure FarmBot doesn’t slack off or sleep on the job

Setting up a Raspberry Pi Camera

The Raspberry Pi supports small 5MP cameras, called Raspberry Pi Camera Modules, which plug directly into the Pi’s CSI bus via a ribbon cable. You can only use one camera module at a time, so if you want to have multiple camera angles, you’ll need to also use a USB web cam.

There are two types of camera modules available: one with a regular camera, and one with an infrared camera that can be used at night in combination with infrared LEDs for a nice night vision ability. The camera modules need to be mounted on your FarmBot in a rain proof location. This could be done with a small plastic bracket and a 3D printed roof structure, or other materials. How and where you mount your camera is up to you.

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Stock Raspbian (and therefore FarmBot OS) support the use of a camera module out of the box, so minimal coding is required to setup your webcam.

Step 1: Coming soon

Step 2: Coming soon

Setting up a USB Webcam

Coming soon