Journey to the center of the bulk: A platform for the monitoring and management of bulk solids and powders

散装固体和粉末（又名颗粒材料）在工业中无处不在，估计每年处理160亿吨散装材料-代表了世界上最大的材料工业类别。颗粒状物质包括谷物、矿物块、化学粉末、沙丘和火星风化层基质。该项目旨在进一步发展CROVER机器人，这是世界上第一个“颗粒无人机”（在能够通过散装固体和粉末移动的设备的意义上），以创建一个系统，不仅提供颗粒体的状态监测，而且能够自主管理它们。该项目是通过Crover的专利技术在散装固体（如沙子，颗粒，粉末）中移动，它是基于Crover：世界上第一个“颗粒无人机”，在能够通过散装固体和粉末移动的设备的意义上。

Bulk solids and powders (a.k.a. granular materials) are ubiquitous in industry, with an estimated 16 Billion tons of bulk materials handled annually - representing the single largest category of materials industry in the world. Granular materials range from cereal grains, mineral bulks, chemical powders, to sand dunes and the Martian regolith substrate.The project aims to further the development of the CROVER robot, the world's first 'granular drone' (in the sense of a device able to move through bulk solids and powders), in order to create a system that not only provides condition monitoring of granular bulks, but also the ability to manage them autonomously.The project is made possible by the Crover proprietary technology for locomotion in bulk solids (e.g. sand, grains, powders) and it is based around the CROVER: the world's first 'granular drone', in the sense of a device able to move through bulk solids and powders.