Meet GardenSpace

A vegetable growing robot to help you grow food at home.

Entrepreneur James Deamer is on a mission to change the way your garden grows! The University of Canberra graduate completed a Bachelor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in 2016, minoring in Human Nutrition. The unlikely combination providing a foundation for his role as the co-founder and creator of GardenSpace.

GardenSpace is the world’s first visual food garden sensor that assists in the growth and maintenance of food from people’s homes. Using advanced technology to create sustainable food systems, the robotic design can check plant health, automatically water and deter animals and pests from eating your food. Essentially it automates the monotonous tasks involved in growing food, and allows people to enjoy the craft side of it by just planting and harvesting the produce.

This idea first came to James while he was studying at the University of Canberra, during a human nutrition class.

It was during a discussion about our food system and the distribution of food. I was generally astonished at the inefficiencies and thought that there was a lot that could be done better.

After graduating and interested in pursuing a career in the start-up space, he contacted his former Entrepreneurship tutor Rory Ford, the founder of Entry29, Canberra’s biggest co-working space. Rory offered him a position as the Community Manager; where James was able interact and connect with a range of local entrepreneurs and professionals. It was here that James met his co-founders and began building on his GardenSpace idea. Encouraged to apply for the HAX program (the world’s first and largest hardware accelerator), James and his team became the second Australian team only to be accepted into the competitive program. The group relocated to Shenzhen earlier this year, receiving hands-on help, mentorship, seed funding, and access to a wide network for advice, expertise and support.

“The program and Shenzhen are both amazing, people move with speed here. We have been able to develop a new version of the product every week since arrival. While most companies can’t decide on a new logo, in under a week we can develop, source parts, 3D print castings, build new components and complete units. You wouldn’t be able to do that anywhere else in the world but at HAX.”

The program has allowed GardenSpace to grow from a simple idea to a fully-functional business. The set-up is simple, and can be used for gardens of any size and shape, growing up to 100 square feet of garden. The robotic smart camera is controlled from the touch of a button, with users guided by an application that lets them know when to plant new vegetables, harvest growing ones and check up on the progress.

“GardenSpace will lead the charge in locally grown produce and the return of heirloom varieties of vegetables and other produce which has been lost for decades. We have huge amounts of space in our suburbs and cities; growing just needs to be easier and automated.”

Being able to work on an incredibly innovative and inspiring concept has been a rewarding experience for James. A highlight for him has been the ability to talk with users testing the product and connecting with customers from around the globe.

I wake up every morning and know I am working with purpose. If I could give words of advice to graduating students, it would be to just start!

GardenSpace launches on Kickstarter Wednesday 18 October - http://getgardenspace.com/