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，由于长期储存的谷物腐败而造成的质量和质量损失每年约为100亿英镑，使储存成为粮食生产中损失最大的单一中游阶段。害虫是罪魁祸首，谷物水分含量和温度是最重要的因素。农场、谷物商人、米莱尔和啤酒厂等谷物储存场所都面临着这些挑战，在收入损失和纠正成本方面具有很高的成本影响。CROVER是世界上第一个“地下无人机”，也是第一个能够在散装谷物中“游泳”的小型机器人设备，例如在棚和筒仓中的小麦和大麦中。CROVER谷物存储监控系统旨在改善谷物包装，并使用机载传感器扫描谷物，并在谷物散装内建立完整的条件地图。与目前仅测量一个变量且范围有限的谷物监测解决方案不同，CROVER谷物存储监测系统可提供整个筒仓的一系列测量（最初是温度和湿度）的实时数据。这使得早期发现潜在的腐败，使主动管理，以减少损失和保持质量。该项目是由一个新的突破性的物理发现，使运动在散装固体（如沙子，谷物，粉末）开发的Crover有限公司，并涵盖了最近授予英国专利。CROVER谷物存储监控系统是一种颗粒物质，相当于飞机或无人机在空中的翅膀，或者是船只在水中的旋翼，它允许物体在固体谷物之间移动。CROVER谷物存储监控系统将适用于拥有筒仓存储和非农场谷物存储场地的大型农场主，以减少谷物浪费，从优质库存销售中获得更高的溢价，并对业务进行战略规划。该项目将重点推进CROVER粮库的发展用于监测谷物散装温度和湿度的监测系统，特别关注评估将当前CROVER概念验证自推进设备扩展为完整的谷物存储监测系统原型的可行性。

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.