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，长期储存的粮食变质造成的质量和质量损失每年约为10B GB，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，谷物含水率和温度是最重要的因素。农场、粮商、磨坊和酿酒厂等谷物储存场所都面临着这些挑战，从收入损失和纠正成本来看，这些挑战都会带来高昂的成本。Crover是世界上第一架“地下无人机”，也是第一个能够“游过”散装谷物的小型机器人设备，比如棚子和筒仓里的小麦和大麦。Crover谷物存储监控系统旨在改善谷物包装，并使用车载传感器扫描谷物并构建谷物散装条件的完整地图。与目前仅测量一个变量且覆盖范围有限的谷物监控解决方案不同，Crover谷物存储监控系统的设想是在整个筒仓中提供一系列测量的实时数据，最初是温度和湿度。这可以及早发现潜在的腐败，从而进行主动管理，减少损失并保持质量。该项目是由Crover Ltd的创始人开发的一项新的突破性物理发现使其能够在散装固体(例如沙子、颗粒、粉末)中移动，并被最近授予的一项英国专利所涵盖。它相当于飞机或无人机机翼在空气中的颗粒物，或船在水中的旋翼，允许物体在固体颗粒之间移动。Crover谷物存储监控系统将为具有筒仓存储的大型农场和非农场谷物储存点的所有者提供服务，以减少粮食浪费，从优质库存销售中获得更高的溢价，并对他们的业务进行战略规划。该项目将专注于推进Crover谷物存储监控系统的开发，以监测谷物散装的温度和水分，特别侧重于评估将目前的Crover概念验证自行式装置扩展为用于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.