Crover provides the only robot in the world that reaches below the surface of stored grain and other bulk solids and powders, taking measurements and samples at depth without anyone entering the store.
 
Stored grain is difficult to monitor and sample accurately. In a flat store, cargo or warehouse, fixed temperature cables read only the few points they touch, and taking physical samples usually means a worker walking on the grain, with the risk of entrapment. Crover has built a robot that does the job safely, more accurately, and reaching more points than ever before.
 
The company was founded in 2018 by Dr Lorenzo Conti, who worked out the underlying physical method during a PhD in granular physics. He found a way for a device to propel itself through granular materials, the Crover Effect, and built a family of robots around it.
 
HOW IT WORKS
What sets the CROVER robot apart is that it works below the surface. It moves through the stored bulk and takes measurements and physical samples at depth, around two metres deep in the standard configuration. A reading taken at the surface tells you little about what is happening inside the bulk, where hotspots and infestations usually start. As it moves through the grain the robot logs temperature, moisture and CO2, and a built-in LiDAR scanner maps the surface and the volume of the store in three dimensions. The operator controls the robot remotely, and the readings come back through Crover’s SavingGrains web app, so multiple stores and sites can be watched and managed from one app.
 
Walking on grain bulks to inspect them or take samples carries the risk of entrapment or engulfment, and remains one of the most hazardous jobs in grain handling. With the CROVER robot doing the work, no one has to step onto the grain at all.
 
 
THE ROBOTS
The main robot in the range is the CROVER Main Platform. It carries two interchangeable modules: a Sensing Module that measures temperature, moisture and CO2, and a Sampling Module that collects physical samples at depth. A separate smaller, pocket-sized unit, the CROVERMini, handles lab-scale bulks. The robots are CE and UKCA marked and receive software updates over the air; the AutoCROVER software upgrade, due for release in the coming months, will add full autonomy.
 
What the system does, in short:
  • reaches below the surface to measure and sample at depth, around 2m, without anyone walking on the grain;
  • measures temperature, moisture and CO2, and builds a 3D map of the store;
  • is operated remotely today, with full autonomy coming via the AutoCROVER software upgrade;
  • is CE and UKCA marked; and
  • Works in grain, minerals and in other bulk solids and powders.
BEYOND GRAIN
The CROVER robot works in most dry bulks, not only grain.
 
Crover customers have used it on minerals, including high-value copper concentrate, and it suits oilseeds, pellets, sand and chemical powders as well.
 
WHERE IT IS USED
CROVER robots are in service with operators across the UK, Europe, North America and Latin America, from farms and cooperatives to traders and port terminals. The company has a collab oration with Peterson Control Union, the inspection, testing and certification group that works in more than 80 countries, to bring the robot into inspection operations. Crover won a $500,000 award from Grow-NY and GENIUS NY, and is growing its US operations from Syracuse, NY.
 
ABOUT CROVER
Crover is the company pioneering robots that move through bulk solids and powders to monitor and sample them. Its patented grain- swimming technology measures temperature, moisture and CO2 in real time and helps ports, traders, cooperatives and farmers cut losses, improve safety and keep stored material in good condition. Crover runs its US operations from Syracuse, New York, with further offices internationally.