Swimming through the Grains: Robotic Device for the Autonomous Monitoring of Cereal Grains in Long-Term Storage

据估计，仅在发达国家，由于长期储存的粮食变质而造成的数量和质量损失每年约为100亿英镑，这使得储存成为粮食生产中损失最大的单一中流阶段。害虫是罪魁祸首，谷物水分含量和温度是最重要的因素。谷物储存场所，如农场、谷物商人、磨坊和酿酒厂，都面临着这些挑战，这些挑战在收入损失和纠正成本方面具有很高的成本。CROVER是世界上第一个“地下无人机”，也是第一个能够在谷仓和谷仓里的小麦和大麦等散装谷物中“游泳”的小型机器人设备。CROVER谷物储存监测系统旨在改善谷物包装，并使用车载传感器扫描谷物，并建立谷物内部状况的完整地图。与目前仅测量一个变量且覆盖范围有限的粮食监测解决方案不同，CROVER粮食储存监测系统旨在提供整个粮仓的一系列实时测量数据，最初是温度和湿度。这可以早期发现潜在的变质，从而进行主动管理，以减少损失并保持质量。该项目是由Crover有限公司创始人开发的一项新的突破性物理发现使散装固体（如沙子，颗粒，粉末）的运动成为可能，并获得了最近授予的英国专利。这种颗粒物质相当于飞机或无人机在空中的机翼，或船在水中的转子，它允许物体在固体颗粒之间移动。CROVER粮食储存监测系统将适用于拥有筒仓储存和农场外粮食储存地点的大型农场所有者，旨在减少粮食浪费，从优质库存销售中获得更高的溢价，并对其业务进行战略性规划。该项目将重点推进CROVER粮食储存监测系统的开发，用于监测粮食散装的温度和湿度，特别侧重于评估将目前的CROVER概念验证自推进装置扩展为粮食储存监测的完整系统原型的可行性。

Estimates place the value of mass and quality losses due to spoilage of grains in long-term storage at ~£10B annually in developed countries alone, making storage the single mid-stream phase in grain production with the highest losses. Pests are to blame, with grain moisture content and temperature being the most significant factors.Cereal storage sites such as farms, grain merchants, millers and breweries, experience these challenges, which have high cost implications in terms of lost revenue and cost to rectify.A CROVER is the world's first 'underground drone' and the first small robotic device able to 'swim' through grains stored in bulk, such as in wheat and barley in sheds and silos. The CROVER Grain Storage Monitoring system is intended to improve grain packing and to use on-board sensors to scan the grains and build a full map of conditions within grain bulks. Unlike current grain monitoring solutions that measure only one variable and have limited reach, the CROVER Grain Storage Monitoring system is envisioned to provide real-time data across a range of measurements, initially temperature and moisture, throughout the whole silo. This gives early detection of potential spoilage allowing proactive management to reduce losses and maintain quality.The project is made possible by a new ground-breaking physical discovery enabling locomotion in bulk solids (e.g. sand, grains, powders) developed by the Founder of the Crover Ltd and covered by a recently granted UK patent. The granular-matter-equivalent of plane or drone wings in air, or a boat's rotor in water, it allows an object to move between solid grains.The CROVER Grain Storage Monitoring system will be for owners of large farms with silo storage and off-farm grain storage sites seeking to reduce grain wastage, to receive higher premiums from quality stock sale and to strategically plan their business.The project will focus on advancing the development of the CROVER Grain Storage Monitoring system for monitoring temperature and moisture in grain bulks, with a particular focus on assessing the feasibility of extending of the current CROVER proof-of-concept self-propelling device into a complete system prototype for grain storage monitoring.