# Bonus Episode: Revolutionising agriculture with 'grain-swimming' robots

- Show: [Robot Talk](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk)
- Published: 2026-09-21
- Length: 18m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2026-09-21-bonus-episode-revolutionising-agriculture-with-grain-swimming-robots
- Listen: https://ukrobotics.libsyn.com/bonus-episode-revolutionising-agriculture-with-grain-swimming-robots

## Summary

Lorenzo Conti, Founder and CEO of Crover, explains how his company developed the world's first subterranean drone to monitor grain storage, addressing safety risks like 'green entrapment' and spoilage. He details the mechanical engineering challenges of moving through granular materials, the discovery of coupled rotational-translational motion, and the development of proprietary propulsion systems. Conti also discusses the company's current stage, recent commercial launch, and ongoing efforts to achieve ATEX certification and deploy autonomous navigation software.

## Chapters

- [0:07](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2026-09-21-bonus-episode-revolutionising-agriculture-with-grain-swimming-robots#t=7) Introduction: Crover and the Grain Storage Problem
- [1:09](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2026-09-21-bonus-episode-revolutionising-agriculture-with-grain-swimming-robots#t=69) The Safety Risks and Economic Drivers of Grain Storage
- [2:54](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2026-09-21-bonus-episode-revolutionising-agriculture-with-grain-swimming-robots#t=174) The Physics of Granular Materials and Propulsion
- [4:23](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2026-09-21-bonus-episode-revolutionising-agriculture-with-grain-swimming-robots#t=263) Development Challenges and Funding Constraints
- [5:44](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2026-09-21-bonus-episode-revolutionising-agriculture-with-grain-swimming-robots#t=344) Certification Hurdles: UKCA, CE, and ATEX
- [7:03](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2026-09-21-bonus-episode-revolutionising-agriculture-with-grain-swimming-robots#t=423) Testing Environments: Farms vs. Ports
- [8:54](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2026-09-21-bonus-episode-revolutionising-agriculture-with-grain-swimming-robots#t=534) Autonomous Navigation and Localization in Grain
- [12:23](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2026-09-21-bonus-episode-revolutionising-agriculture-with-grain-swimming-robots#t=743) Robot Hardware Tour: Propulsion, Sensors, and Battery Life

## Topics

- [Robotics & autonomy](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/robotics-and-autonomy)
- [Mechanical engineering](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/mechanical-engineering)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [Certification & compliance](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/certification-and-compliance)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Crover (company)
- National Robotarium (company)
- UK RAS STEPS (other)
- University of Edinburgh (other)
- Society of British Sports (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [54. 3D Printing the Engines and Drones of the Future](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-next-byte-podcast/2022-01-25-54-3d-printing-the-engines-and-drones-of-the-future) (The Next Byte Podcast)
- [Divya Thakur (Founder, Yardbot)](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/just-gonna-send-it/2026-05-06-divya-thakur-founder-yardbot) (Just Gonna Send It)
- [TRI using generative AI to teach robots; Four Growers on developing harvesting robots](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2023-09-22-tri-using-generative-ai-to-teach-robots-four-growers-on-developing-harvesting-ro) (The Robot Report Podcast)
- [#006 - How a drone company overcame the limitations of indoor applications for restaurants, warehouses, with Junyang Woon of Infinium Robotics, Singapore](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-hardware-entrepreneur/2016-12-28-006-how-a-drone-company-overcame-the-limitations-of-indoor-applications-for-rest) (The Hardware Entrepreneur)
- [32. Robot That Will Save Grape Farmers Billions & How Metallic Glass Will Result In Affordable Robotics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-next-byte-podcast/2021-08-24-32-robot-that-will-save-grape-farmers-billions-how-metallic-glass-will-result-in) (The Next Byte Podcast)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2026-09-21-bonus-episode-revolutionising-agriculture-with-grain-swimming-robots. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Robot Talk.