Hi FarmBot community,
Today we’re sharing the first update of the year 
Here’s what’s new:
FarmBot Genesis and Genesis XL v1.7 - Now Available
Earlier this month we stocked our warehouse with all-new Genesis and Genesis XL v1.7 kits. They’re now shipping to customers every week 
These new FarmBots feature all of the latest enhancements and best technology we have to offer, and they’re now easier than ever to setup. That’s because they now come 90% pre-assembled in the box, substantially reducing setup time to just 3 or 4 hours. Take a peek at what’s inside:
New track design
One of the biggest changes to the hardware in v1.7 are the completely redesigned track extrusions. They come in at less than half the weight of the previous track extrusions and are designed to mount directly on top of a raised bed without the need for track joining or end plates.
The new design also removes the need for separate plastic cable carrier supports, instead relying on an integrated wooden cable carrier support attached to the side of the raised bed.
The new tracks are much easier and faster to assemble than previous versions of the Genesis tracks due to the significant reduction in part count. The new design also saves significantly on manufacturing cost and shipping weight and volume.
Genesis v1.7 documentation
Complimenting the latest version of the hardware is the latest version of our open-source documentation, complete with updated assembly instructions, the change log showing all of the changes we made since the last version, and a full bill of materials.
3D electronics box
You’ll now find a fully 3D, interactive representation of the electronics box, push buttons, and LED indicators in the peripherals tab of the controls popup, giving users a more realistic (and therefore easier to understand) view of their real-life machine from the app. Under the hood this is powered by three.js and exported CAD models from Onshape, and its just the beginning of where we want to take the app this year 
Lua is now allowed in shared sequences
Everyone can now publish and share sequences with Lua code, allowing community members to more easily share the ways in which custom code is supercharging their FarmBot. We look forward to seeing what you all are creating!
And please note: shared sequences are not reviewed by FarmBot Inc. You must read and understand a sequence (and especially one with Lua code) before importing and running it with your FarmBot.
Login page improvements
We’ve retooled the app login page to get rid of some autofill related bugs. We also updated the styling a bit to reduce layout shift and bring the login page inline with our branding.
Miscellaneous
- The most recently used starting X and Y coordinates in the + GRID popup are now be preserved between uses of the popup.
- The HIDE SENSORS PANEL setting now functions independently from the firmware choice, allowing for Express bot owners to show the sensors panel to add their own DIY sensors to their machine.
- We’ve implemented some new methods to help with broadcasting messages to the message center.
- We’ve made some changes to our server configuration to lower hosting costs of the web app.