• LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
Agri-EPI Centre
  • Home
  • About
    • Governance
    • Team
    • Agri-Tech Centres of Agricultural Innovation
    • Careers
      • Project Management
  • Solutions
    • Service support
    • Livestock and Dairy
      • Midlands Piggery
      • Midlands Research Dairy Centre
      • Calf Research & Innovation Facility
      • South West Dairy Development Centre
        • South West Dairy Visitor Centre
    • Soil & Crop Technology
      • Crop Technology Southern Innovation Hub
      • Postharvest Storage Facility
      • Glasshouse Phenotyping Platform
        • Equipment
      • Soil Flux 360
    • Business Incubation
      • Midlands Agri-Tech Innovation Hub
        • flexible office space solutions
        • Inform – Book your next event
        • Innovate – Access agri-tech workshop and on-farm facilities
      • Northern Agri-Tech Innovation Hub
    • Farm network
  • Impact
    • Case studies
    • Projects
  • Membership
    • Network
    • International Dual Membership
  • News
    • Events
    • Blog
  • Contact
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
Home » News » Grain ‘swimming’ robot solution to global food loss
Crover grain robot deviceCrover

Grain ‘swimming’ robot solution to global food loss

20th September 2020/in Crops and Soil, News, Robotics, AI and Automation /by Yoni van Breukelen

New Innovate UK-funded project tackling the global problem of post-harvest grain losses

Poor Autumn planting conditions, a Spring drought and the recent heavy rains have led to a very difficult UK harvest. And the challenges don’t end once grain is in store – uncontrolled temperature and moisture levels can lead to pests and mould which, due to the notoriously difficult task of monitoring the condition of stored grain, contribute to global post-harvest grain losses of more than 20%.

Now, a new Innovate UK-funded project is tackling the problem. Technology start-up Crover Ltd, Agri-EPI Centre and East of Scotland Farmers have teamed up to develop the first robotic robot able to safely sample grain bulks at various depths and while still in storage, where existing methods cannot. Each one of the robotic devices, called the “Crover”, is expected to be able to save a total of 380 tonnes of grain (wheat and barley) every year.

Grain robot

Over the next 18 months, the grain robot Crover will be trialled at the East of Scotland Farmers co-operative in Perth & Kinross, at a farm in Northumberland and within Agri-EPI’s network of partner farms. The project is being supported with £250,000 of Innovate UK funding.

Lorenzo Conti, Crover’s Managing Director, explained:

“Post-harvest losses have serious financial impacts for cereal storage sites such as farms, grain merchants, millers and breweries. But they also have significant social and environmental consequences, which are becoming ever more even more pressing due to threats such as increasing global food demand, intense price volatility, and harvest unpredictability due to climate change. Four and a half billion people per year are exposed to dangerous mycotoxins from grain moulds which contaminate 25% of the world’s food supply. The carbon footprint from cereal storage losses equates to 6% of global greenhouse gas emissions from food waste.

“Like a plane’s wings in air, or a boat’s rotor in water, the patented technology behind our Crover robot allows it to fluently “swim” through bulk solids, like cereals and grains, monitoring their condition while they are still in storage and without leaving any grain unchecked. Our aim is to improve grain storage systems, helping to build the resilience of the grain supply chain and the wider global food system.”

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 autonomously collect samples throughout the whole silo/shed. This gives early detection of potential spoilage allowing steps to be taken to reduce losses and maintain quality.

Dave Ross, Chief Executive of Agri-EPI Centre said:

“Cereal grains are the basis of staple food, yet post-harvest losses during long-term storage are significant and high. Through this new and very exciting collaboration, the partners will blend their technological and industry expertise to investigate how grain robot Crover can respond to that challenge by working effectively in commercial grain storage sites, with potentially huge benefits to the agri-food industry and wider society.”

Robin Barron, General Manager of East of Scotland Farmers said:

“We have a special interest in obtaining representative samples from silos and stores full of malting barley, so that we can accurately assess their recovery from dormancy before being dispatched to maltster customers.”

Ian Cox, Innovate UK’s Agri-Tech Centre Policy Lead said:

“Innovate UK is pleased to have been able to support this innovative and exciting project. It has the potential to deliver significant impact in terms of improving food safety and security as well as helping to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. “

In this video, the project partners explain the technology and project impact:

More information

For further information or interviews, please contact Jane Smernicki, Agri-EPI Centre Communications Manager on 07985 691 765 or jane.smernicki@agri-epcentre.com.

Stay informed

Keep up to date with the latest impact and results of our work, plus, news, innovation and approaches across the sector. Read our latest news and Agri-EPI blogs.

Tags: Grain storage monitoring, robotics and automation
Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on WhatsApp
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share by Mail
https://agri-epicentre.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Crover-grain-robot-device-845x321-1.png 321 845 Yoni van Breukelen https://agri-epicentre.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Agri-EPI-Logo-Primary-1-300x87.png Yoni van Breukelen2020-09-20 09:03:022021-02-22 17:08:36Grain ‘swimming’ robot solution to global food loss

Press & Media enquiries

How can Agri-EPI help?

For Press & Media enquiries, please contact our Corporate Communications & Policy Manager Jane Smernicki:

E communications@agri-epicentre.com
T 0798 5691765

Latest news

  • BSAS Conference 2021Agri-EPI and partners lead BSAS conference session7th April 2021 - 12:02 pm

    Agri-EPI Centre and partners will be leading a session at the BSAS conference on 13 April, exploring the intersection of technology, animal health and sustainable food production.  

  • buffer feeding precisionIncreasing buffer feeding precision with new agri-technologies31st March 2021 - 3:06 pm

    In partnership with ED&F Man, Agri-EPI Centre research found that including a proportion of straw and molasses-based liquid feed in the buffer feed can offer the dual benefits of allowing production to be maintained whilst preserving valuable silage stocks.

  • head of crops claire hodgeAgri-EPI appoints Claire Hodge as Head of Crops25th March 2021 - 10:14 am

    Agri-EPI Centre’s new Head of Crops will develop and lead the implementation of the organisation’s strategy for crops (especially high value crops), fruit and vegetables.

  • Animal health, aquculture and agritech eventLead sponsor for Scottish animal health, agritech & agriculture event announced19th March 2021 - 8:45 am

    The A3 Scotland conference, the country’s first dedicated global event dedicated to the animal health, agri-tech and aquaculture (AAA) sectors, is delighted to welcome the world’s largest animal health company Zoetis on board as its Platinum Sponsor.

Archive - News

  • 2021 (11)
  • 2020 (34)
  • 2019 (34)
  • 2018 (39)
  • 2017 (1)
  • 2016 (1)

Contact Us

Keen to speak to one of the Agri-EPI staff members?
Let us know what we can do for you.

Get in touch

Call Us

Call Us: 0131 239 7100

Opening Times

Monday – Friday | 8:30am – 5:30pm

Saturday | Closed

Sunday | Closed

Agri-EPI Centre Rev Logo

Contact Us

Phone: 0131 239 7100

Agri-EPI Centre
Easter Bush
Roslin EH25 9RG

Privacy Notice

Follow Us

We work with UKRI
UK Agri-Tech Centres

Registered office: Agri-EPI Centre Midlands Agri-Tech Innovation Hub, Poultry Lane, Edgmond Newport, England, TF10 8JZ
Company Reg. Number: 09922991
VAT Number: 240019456 (UK)

© Agri-EPI Centre Ltd
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
  • Home
  • About
  • Solutions
  • Impact
  • Membership
  • News
  • Contact
Agri-EPI CTO becomes food network champion Agri-EPI CTO becomes food network champion Agri-EPI Harvest Agricultural Technology Head of Farm Network Gavin Dick Reflects on Harvest
Scroll to top

This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.

OKLearn more

Cookie and Privacy Settings



How we use cookies

We may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.

Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.

Essential Website Cookies

These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.

Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refuseing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.

We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.

We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.

Other external services

We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.

Google Webfont Settings:

Google Map Settings:

Google reCaptcha Settings:

Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:

Privacy Policy

You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page.

Privacy Notice
Accept settingsHide notification only