--- title: "Watch a Happy Little Robot Off-Road Inside a Grain Bin to Help Farmers" date: "2024-03-09" modified: "2024-03-09" authors: - name: "Kristin V. Shaw" job_title: "Contributor" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/kristin-shaw" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/watch-the-happiest-little-robot-off-road-inside-a-grain-bin" categories: - "News" --- # Watch a Happy Little Robot Off-Road Inside a Grain Bin to Help Farmers ![small robot with lights on]() *\Grain Weevile\* Grain such as soybeans, corn, and wheat require storage in giant metal receptacles called grain bins. They, like [everything else on a farm](), must be maintained to keep the contents fresh and avoid insects and mold. Getting inside a grain bin to stir it up is a hazardous undertaking for reasons I’ll explain in a minute. As an alternative, a father-son team in Omaha, Nebraska came up with an agricultural robot that acts like an off-roading Roomba on a small mountain of grain. The [ag robot is called Grain Weevil](), invented by Chad and Ben Johnson. Watching this little robot is supremely satisfying as it plows happily through a pile of grain, doing its job. “This is the robot embodiment of love what you do and you'll never work a day in your life,” said one commenter on Grain Weevil’s YouTube channel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu_JYHWo1Gc Americans have an ongoing love affair with carbs, and [grain farmers]() are very important people. Those chocolate chip cookies we love so much require some kind of flour, and flour comes from a variety of grains. Even a certain uniform chip that comes in a canister seems to be made from particle board and, you guessed it: wheat. That precious calorie-laden ingredient can come with a heavy price, and the Johnsons answered the call from a farmer friend looking for a solution. Thus, the Grain Weevil. The [Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)]() warns of a number of dangerous situations that can happen when a worker enters a grain bin, [all of them terrifying](). Standing on top of the grain brings the risk of suffocation after sinking into the pile in a matter of 4-5 seconds. Or moisture and mold can cause the grain to clump together up the side or as a “bridge” that creates an empty space beneath it. As it’s unloaded from the bottom into the auger, the worker can be quickly buried. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrZlBkShv_s In the agriculture world, a designated [Grain Bin Safety Week]() is set aside each February as a reminder. [According to Nationwide Insurance Company](), at least 29 grain entrapments were reported in 2022, 11 resulting in death; more than 300 people were trapped over the past decade. That number doesn't even include the estimated 30 percent of unreported incidents. On top of that, farmers are susceptible to a condition called Farmer’s Lung, which is caused by breathing in dust from corn, wheat, hay, animal feed, and other agricultural elements. Maybe it’s not a good idea to anthropomorphize a useful robot, but the little machine’s movements and lights seem to suggest a cheerful outlook. It’s a heck of a lot safer than getting in there with a shovel. *Got a story tip? Send it to tips@thedrive.com.* ## Author Kristin Shaw is the former Weekend Editor for The Drive and a current freelancer in both the automotive and aviation worlds. She’s a big fan of anything car-related and calls on her technology background on the corporate side to explain engineering and high-tech concepts. Now living in her sixth state (New Jersey, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Georgia, and now Texas), she is thrilled that working from home is now mainstream. ### Author social links [Facebook]() [Instagram]() [Twitter]()