A new farming robot aimed at improving temperature and humidity in grain has been launched from Scotland’s new National Robotarium.
Agritech developer, Crover, designed the grain-burrowing monitor which has in-built moisture and temperature sensors to reduce the time of traditional processes for store checks such as manual sampling with a spear.
Two domed-shaped wheels are used to propel through grain or other material in a bulk stack and it then feeds back analysis and data to a dashboard, giving users a more accurate understanding of the grain’s condition.
Temperature and humidity have a profound impact on grain storage and can contribute to the infestation of mould or insects which cause farmers to destroy significant portions of their stored crops.
It is estimated that up to 30% of commodity grain is lost from the supply chain globally every year as a result.
Founder and managing director of Crover, Lorenzo Conti, said the robot can swim through the grain quickly generating a 3D map of temperature and moisture across the stack.
“Traditional methods like spear sampling grain are time consuming and laborious and quite often impractical and dangerous,” said Mr Conti.
“In practice, grain storage operators are advised to sample bulk stacks at every 50cm intervals. The reality is that, if done manually, someone could spend the best part of a week carrying out a single store check depending on the size of their crop load.”
He said this kind of insight can help people like farmers to better understand the condition of their grain and make informed decisions earlier like increasing ventilation or taking pest control measures.
The £22.4 million National Robotarium research facility in Edinburgh opened its doors in September 2022 and works collaboratively with partners around the globe to define, develop and resolve industry challenges through the application of robotics and AI.
Its chief operating officer, Steve Mclaren said: “Innovations like Crover’s grain storage device – which could help solve a global problem for the world’s agriculture sector – are a great example of this mandate in action.”