"Build me a robot so I never have to go into a grain bin again!"
A few years ago, our friend Zach challenged us to build him a robot so neither he nor his kids would ever have to go in a grain bin again. Grain bins are hot, dirty, and dangerous work places. To adequately manage stored grain farmers are exposed to potential falls, entrapments, auger entanglements, and long term conditions such as Farmer’s Lung. On the nearly 450,000 American farms with grain bins, farmers take these risks over six million times a year. Grain needs to be managed during the entire storage process and a farmer with a shovel has always been the best solution. Unfortunately, there are nearly 25 entrapment deaths per year. Even worse, one out of every five grain bin accidents are teenage boys.
