Get to know the GENIUS NY Cohort 8 teams leading up to the Pitch Finals on Oct. 28, 2024.

Managing grain storage comes with high risk to workers. It’s important to make sure the grain quality is maintained while in storage, but the grain can sometimes work like quicksand.

“Within three seconds, somebody can be completely engulfed. Farmers are putting their lives at risk to go get samples for analytics,” Sarah Ostberg said.

Ostberg is the Director of Partnerships at Crover, an uncrewed systems company that’s developed a robot that can navigate through the grain and collect needed samples. This tool makes grain storage safer, more efficient and sustainable. Crover Founder and CEO Lorenzo Conti said getting more quality grain to the end of the supply chain was the impetus for their tech startup.

“There’s a big gap in the midstream of the supply chain, where a lot of losses happen during storage and transportation. We really want to make sure that more food reaches our table with the right quality,” Conti said.

Crover is different from its GENIUS NY Cohort 8 counterparts in that instead of working with uncrewed systems in the air, it is the first device in the world able to operate through bulk solids and powders. Conti said the technology has wide ranging applications because of its ability to navigate through not only grain, but any granular substance. However, the social impact is what ultimately pushed the Crover team to decide to make grain storage its first use case.

“It’s just something any new technology should consider. As a society, we are able to do a lot of things, and I think going forward what differentiates one technology from another is – can it do something sustainably,” Conti said. “I think now is the time of getting things to work sustainably and deliver the best value to society.”

Being a part of GENIUS NY is allowing the Scotland-based company to establish a route into the U.S. market and advance its technology. Both Conti and Ostberg agree the GENIUS NY program is set up to help them meet their goals.

“The GENIUS NY team is constantly looking into ways to help us grow. When they say that it is all about helping the startups succeed, they actually mean it,” Conti said.

Crover will present its technology at the GENIUS NY Pitch Finals during Innovation Night.
GET TICKETS to the Oct. 28 event today.