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Lorenzo Conti
Founder & Managing Director of Crover
- AgTech
- Entrepreneur
- 📍Edinburgh, Scotland
Dr. Lorenzo Conti is Founder & Managing Director of Crover Ltd, a Scotland-based startup that developed the world’s first ‘subterranean drone’ (i.e. a CROVER).
Lorenzo is an Enterprise Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and holds a PhD in Engineering from The University of Edinburgh, where he worked on granular rheology (the study of how granular matter flows) and discovered the ‘CROVER effect’.
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BOOK NOW FOR your podcast
Lorenzo Conti
Founder & Managing Director of Crover
- 📍Edinburgh, Scotland
- AgTech
- Entrepreneur
Dr. Lorenzo Conti is Founder & Managing Director of Crover Ltd, a Scotland-based startup that developed the world’s first ‘subterranean drone’ (i.e. a CROVER).
Lorenzo is an Enterprise Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and holds a PhD in Engineering from The University of Edinburgh, where he worked on granular rheology (the study of how granular matter flows) and discovered the ‘CROVER effect’.
read more
As seen on
“Edinburgh-based agtech company Crover has been named a finalist in the 2023 Grow-NY international business competition.
The largest international food and ag business competition, Grow-NY, now in its 5th year, seeks to catalyze innovations that have the potential to transform the industry and create a positive impact on communities and the environment.
Crover will compete at the Grow-NY Summit in Binghamton, NY in November for $3 million in total prize money.”
“The Cornell Institute for Food Systems is pleased to welcome Lorenzo Conti, Ph.D., founder and managing director of Crover, a 2023 Grow-NY finalist.
Cereal grains are the basis of stable food worldwide, yet post-harvest losses are exceptionally high, at 630Mt annually worldwide. Crover is developing a system to monitor, sample, and stir bulk grain in silos and sheds, hence helping maintain quality and improving the safety of grain storage operations, using the CROVER robot, the world’s first device able to ‘swim’ multi-directionally on and below the surface of bulk solids and powders.”
“A spark of ingenuity led Lorenzo Conti to break new boundaries. At every step, he had the enthusiastic support of the University of Edinburgh.
While undertaking his PhD, Lorenzo conceived a world first; a revolutionary drone that can travel autonomously, in any direction, through granular material such as grain, sand, minerals and powder. The ‘Crover’, as it is known, has the potential to open up a wide range of commercial applications. The University team recognises the possibilities and has given Lorenzo their backing from the outset.”
“Scottish company Crover has presented its revolutionary grain-surfing agricultural robot, designed to optimize grain storage conditions and support the agricultural sector. This innovative technology marks a significant advancement in improving efficiency and reducing crop loss.”
“Crover’s robotic platform isn’t the sexiest or most exciting — particularly for a startup that began life with space travel in its sights. But the real future of robotics and automation lies in the dull, dirty and dangerous tasks employers have difficult finding human workers to fill. Monitoring grain silos, at very least, qualifies for the first part.”
“The first ever underground drone robot glides through heaps of wheat and barley grain to monitor the silo environment, providing information that was previously impossible to collect. It will allow farmers to easily identify when their stored crop is spoiling so they can take steps to protect it.”
Timeline
May 2018 - Present
Crover
Founder & Managing Director
Mar 2019 - Present
Royal Academy of Engineering
Enterprise Fellow
Sep 2011 - Aug 2016
The University of Edinburgh
Teaching Assistant, Tutor and Lab Demonstrator
Jun 2012 - Sep 2013
FRED Film Radio
Freelance Reporter
Ask me
| What enabled the Crover team to develop the world's first device able to move through bulk solids and powders? |
| What was possible in terms of locomotion in bulk solids and powders before Crover's groundbreaking discovery? |
| What can the Crover Grain Storage Management system do that other systems can't? |
