rail & gantry bot

This is actually a 3D printer, but replace the print head with a couple of general purpose robotic arms and you've got the makings of a gardening robot.

the empowerment of small-scale industrial designers

This Wired video discusses how easy it has become to get ahold of custom parts. Not mentioned, but quite obviously working away, is a 3D printer, building up a bust using deposited material.

This ability to get custom parts economically means that individuals and small companies can go where only large companies could realistically go before, and should infuse new energy into the culture of small scale experimentation, which was already showing renewed signs of life over the last decade or so.

This is very hopeful!