In the unit Food products, research is mainly conducted in the two areas of soilless production systems and «Farmbot» to create sustainable solutions for food production. The focus is hereby on the following principles:

• reuse of nutrients
• efficient use of resources
• closed circuits
• soilless food production

FarmBot is an open-source robotic planting system designed to automatically cultivate vegetables. It performs all the work involved in cultivation: sowing to specification, weeding, measuring soil moisture and targeted irrigation.

Within the field of urban farming, the eco-technology research group is interested in the automated cultivation of food, for example, on roof and facade surfaces that are difficult to access, in vertical, hydroponic and aquaponic farming.

With specific further development, FarmBot could also be used for the cultivation of mixed crops.

Within the scope of term papers and the Bachelor’s thesis, you have the opportunity to further develop the FarmBot. For example, Linus Bleisch developed a carrot harvesting tool as part of his bachelor's thesis.

• The two environmental engineering students Remo Oberholzer and Stefan Schmutz have achieved second place at the Federal Office for Agriculture's Digitization Workshop 2019 - Congratulations!
  Shortvideo FOAG - Digitalization Workshop 2019
• P. Osterwalder, 2019, FARMBOT - mit einer Open Source Technologie zu einer automatisierten Gartenarbeit
• Bachelor thesis: L. Bleisch, 2019, FARMBOT für die Bewirtschaftung der Dachfläche eines Zero Emission Building, ZHAW Wädenswil
• Semester thesis 2: E. Perritaz, 2020, Evaluation der Feuchtigkeits- und Temperaturmessung mit dem FARMBOT, ZHAW Wädenswil