Biomass contributes 67% of Scotland's renewable heat, with biomass energy consumption in Scotland expected to increase from 12.5 TWh to 13.9 TWh by 2030, and to 16.3 TWh by 2045\. At a UK level, biomass generated 11% of the UK's electricity supply, and 8.6% of the UK's total energy supply in 2022, and accounts for 72% of renewal heat from renewable sources in the UK. The use of bioenergy has been forecast to increase under nearly all pathways to net zero: the International Energy Agency (IEA) suggests an increase of 8% per year until 2030 and more than 80 countries have policies in place which support the use of biofuels. Biomass storage is crucial due to the often seasonal nature of biomass availability and the year-round demand for energy. However, the handling of storage of biomass has many hurdles and a number of health and safety issues: * Degradation: Biomass decomposes, losing energy content and potentially causing spoilage, unwanted byproducts (gases, odors), and safety hazards. * Fire Risk: Dry biomass is highly flammable and prone to spontaneous combustion. Fires spread rapidly in storage areas. * Moisture: High moisture accelerates degradation, reduces energy efficiency, and creates handling difficulties. * Bulk Density: Low density requires large storage spaces and increases transportation costs. * Pests: Insects and rodents can damage biomass and pose health risks. * Environment: Runoff and emissions (dust, VOCs) can pollute the surrounding environment. This project aims to develop a solution for managing biomass bulks in sheds and warehouses. Integrating volumetrics and thermal imaging, it generates a 3D map of the bulk with thermal data, enhancing CROVER robot operation and providing accurate visualizations and volume assessments via the CROVER web app. * Efficient Robot Operations: Enables precise robot navigation and path planning on the bulk surface. * Enhanced Data Visualization: Provides a realistic 3D visualization for improved data analysis. * Accurate Inventory Management: Accurately measures bulk volume and remaining storage capacity. * Improved Safety: Identifies potential hazards and enables assessment of incidents within the bulk. * Enhanced Security: Detects unauthorized access and foreign objects. * Quality Control: Surface temperature monitoring helps identify potential quality issues.

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), by using AI to automate the CROVER robot and system and thus providing autonomous condition monitoring and management of granular bulks. The project will build upon the successfully completed feasibility study of using AI for localisation and motion control in bulk solids and powders, providing an exciting pathway to breaking the underground 'granular' barrier of automation. The project is made possible by the Crover proprietary technology for locomotion in bulk solids and powders (e.g. sand, grains, fertilisers) and it is based around the CROVER robot: the world's first 'granular drone', in the sense of a device able to move through bulk solids and powders.

Since the first known examples of grain storage dating back to ~11,000 years ago in the Jordan valley, the process of storing grain (e.g. whole wheat/barley/oilseeds in sheds and silos) has been a critical part of the agriculture industry, essential to preserving the grain's quality and value, as well as to bridge the gap between harvest and its subsequent use. There is an unmet need in the grain storage industry to reduce mass and quality losses (\\\>20%) and improve the health and safety of grain storage operations, as farmers and grain storage operators are still forced to walk on dangerous grain bulks to collect grain samples. The objective of this project is to create the first commercial robotic device able to safely and autonomously collect physical samples from grain bulks at various points and depths, while the grain is still idle in storage and/or large transportation units (e.g. cargoes), where existing methods cannot. While current grain sampling 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 collect samples throughout the whole shed/silo/truck/cargo. This will provide farmers, grain storage operators, traders and transportation companies with a tool to obtain highly representative and verified samples at different points within grain bulks, hence enabling them to reduce grain claims/rejection, improve the health and safety of their operations, detect potential spoilage, and allowing proactive management to reduce losses and maintain grain quality. The project is made possible by Crover's proprietary technology for locomotion in bulk solids (e.g. sand, grains, powders) and it is based around the CROVER robot: the world's first 'granular drone', in the sense of a device able to move through bulk solids and powders.

Since the first known examples of grain storage dating back to ~11,000 years ago in the Jordan valley, the process of storing grain (e.g. whole wheat/barley/oilseeds in sheds and silos) has been a critical part of the agriculture industry, essential to preserving the grain's quality and value, as well as to bridge the gap between harvest and its subsequent use. There is an unmet need in the grain storage industry to reduce absolute and quality losses (\>20%) and improve the health and safety of grain storage operations, as farmers and grain storage operators are still forced to walk on dangerous grain bulks to monitor and inspect grain. The objective of this project, a partnership between Crover Ltd, Associated British Ports, Camgrain, Holkham Farming Company, and Morley Farms, is to create the first robotic device able to safely and autonomously implement IPM practices for on-farm storage and that can go beyond the farm gate by replacing current, labour intensive and risky, grain storage monitoring and inspection solutions. The CROVER robot will provide, throughout the whole mid-stream of the grain value chain, in grain sheds/silos/lorries/cargos, high resolution data and environmental condition control that will aid the data-driven decision-making approach that is at the base of a successful IPM strategy. This will provide farmers, grain storage operators, traders and transportation companies with a tool to efficiently and remotely monitor and maintain the quality of grain bulks, hence enabling them to reduce grain claims/rejection, improve the health and safety of their operations, detect potential spoilage, and allowing proactive management to reduce losses and maintain grain quality. The project is made possible by Crover's proprietary technology for locomotion in bulk solids (e.g. sand, grains, powders) and it is based around the CROVER robot: the world's first 'granular drone', in the sense of a device able to move through bulk solids and powders. The project is a partnership between a very strong consortium made of: * Crover Ltd (technology provider) * Associated British Ports (the UK's leading port operator, with 21 on-port storage sites across the country) * Camgrain (the largest cereals and oilseeds cooperative and grain storage operator in Cambridgeshire and the UK's only farmer-owned network of APC (Advanced Processing Centre) central stores) * Holkham Farming Company * Morley Farms who will be working together to develop, test and share the project's outputs and maximise its societal benefits.

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, a collaboration between Crover and the Scotland 5G Centre, 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), by using AI to automate the CROVER robot and system and thus providing autonomous condition monitoring and management of granular bulks. 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.

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.

Cereal grains are the basis of staple food, yet post-harvest losses during long-term storage are exceptionally high, above 20% in the UK and worldwide. 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. The scope of this feasibility study is to develop a novel non-contact sensor for non-contact grain analysis able to detect specific molecular compounds within a radius of up to a few tens of centimetres, based on a novel miniaturised sensing technology, and to integrate it onto the ever-improving CROVER robot, the world's first 'underground drone', which fluently 'swims' grain bulks and which is at the core of the CROVER autonomous Grain Storage Management system. This will allow for the potential readings that go far beyond the typical grain storage safety parameter (humidity and temperature, which we will still provide). During the project, we will focus on some of the most prominent variables of grain storage and grain quality: proteins and mycotoxins. Down the line, the result of this project is expected to allow for the expansion of the parameters that we will be able to measure, including specific nutrients (amino-acid composition, fatty acid composition and FFAs presence and quantity and - particularly relevant for oilseeds), or insect presence and species identification (including at eggs and larval stages) aligned with different customer requirements. The rationale for this project is aligned with the arable sector (and of the whole grain value chain) need for novel and alternative crop protection solutions, in support of the current push toward holistic Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approaches.

Cereal grains are the basis of staple food, yet post-harvest losses during long-term storage are exceptionally high, above 20% in the UK and worldwide. 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. The objective of this project, a partnership between Crover Ltd, Agri-EPI Centre and East of Scotland Farmers, is to create the first robotic device able to safely sample grain bulks at various depths and while still hidle in storage, where existing methods cannot. 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 collect samples throughout the whole silo/shed. This gives early detection of potential spoilage allowing proactive management to reduce losses and maintain quality.

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.

Cereal grains are the basis of staple food, yet post-harvest losses during long-term storage are exceptionally high, above 20% in the UK and worldwide. 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. The objective of this project, a partnership between Crover Ltd, Agri-EPI Centre and East of Scotland Farmers, is to create the first robotic device able to safely sample grain bulks at various depths and while still hidle in storage, where existing methods cannot. 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 collect samples throughout the whole silo/shed. This gives early detection of potential spoilage allowing proactive management to reduce losses and maintain quality.