A Scots firm has built a robot that can “swim” through and monitor stored crops amid hopes it could save a third of the world’s grain.
The unique “grain-surfing” device dreamt up by Edinburgh-based farming tech developer Crover will “revolutionise” crop management by helping to prevent waste, it’s claimed.
A staggering 30 per cent of harvested grains, like wheat or barley, are lost from the global food supply chain every year due to mould or insect infestations while in storage.
But the T-shaped robot burrows or “swims” through grain bulks held in sheds or silos - using temperature and moisture sensors to feed back data on the crops’ environmental condition.
That in turn will help farmers take action to store crops more efficiently and prevent them from being ruined.
It’s hoped the pioneering technique will save huge amounts of time compared to traditional methods for store checks - such as manual sampling with a spear.
Crover has recently taken up residency at the National Robotarium in Edinburgh’s Heriot Watt University - a state-of-the-art £22million hub specialising in AI and robotics which opened in September.
Lorenzo Conti, founder and managing director of Crover, said: “The reality is that, if done manually, someone could spend the best part of a week carrying out a single store check.
“Our device is designed to be controlled from one spot and saves whoever is operating it many hours of work as well as improving accuracy.
“The robot can ‘swim’ through the grain quickly generating a 3D map of temperature and moisture across the stack.
“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 invention comes amid growing problems with food shortages in the UK and around the world.
Steve McLaren, Chief Operating Officer at the National Robotarium, said: “The National Robotarium was launched with a mandate to assist all types of partners to accelerate research from laboratory to market… and, ultimately, pave the way for the UK to take a global leadership role in AI and robotics technology.
“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.”
UK Government Scotland minister Malcolm Offord, said: "Projects like this demonstrate the collaborative benefits the hub is providing, with resulting economic and environmental advances delivered to the UK.”
Scottish Government Wellbeing Economy Secretary Neil Gray said: “Technological advances like this show why the Scottish Government has supported the Robotarium through the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal.”
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