Feasibility study of a Crover robot for the autonomous sampling of grain bulks

谷物是主食的基础，但在长期储存过程中收获后的损失非常高，在英国和世界范围内超过20%。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，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。该项目是Crover Ltd、Agri-EPI中心和苏格兰东部农民之间的合作伙伴关系，其目标是创造第一个能够安全地在不同深度对谷物散装进行采样的机器人设备，同时仍然隐藏在储存中，现有的方法不能。与目前只能到达表面附近的谷物解决方案不同，Crover的远程探测设备将能够在整个筒仓/棚中收集样本。这可以及早发现潜在的变质，从而进行积极的管理，以减少损失并保持质量。

Cereal grains are the basis of staple food, yet post-harvest losses during long-term storage are exceptionally high, above 20% in the UK and worldwide. 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.The objective of this project, a partnership between Crover Ltd, Agri-EPI Centre and East of Scotland Farmers, is to create the first robotic device able to safely sample grain bulks at various depths and while still hidle in storage, where existing methods cannot. Unlike current grain solutions that can only reach near the surface pose a safety hazard to operators collecting the samples, Crover's remote probing device will be able to collect samples throughout the whole silo/shed. This gives early detection of potential spoilage allowing proactive management to reduce losses and maintain quality.