Journey to the center of the bulk: A platform for the monitoring and management of 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.