Miller Magazine Issue: 130 October 2020

74 ARTICLE MILLER / OCtOber 2020 tool. Without any further type of monitoring, the user can decide from which locations to fetch the quantities to fulfill an order with the minimal effort and with the smal- lest distances to travel. Remote inventory monitoring is also valuable to keep an eye on contracted silos. As sen- sors can capture any grain movement, no matter how small or slow this is, buyers can be sure that the product they will receive will be the same as the one agreed and initially stored in the silo. Managerial factors that affect post-harvest grain con- dition, losses and decision-making is not a trivial task. Despite its importance, it is still a domain that has not been researched deeply . Even though, access to various data sources is a good start. Grain managers obtain valu- able insights through a rich set of measurements. Combi- ning quality metrics with the inventory monitoring makes the work of a grain manager, a miller, or a grower way more efficient. Knowing exactly how much grain you have, in which silo, and at what condition helps to take the optimal decisions regarding which silos to prioritize for shipping or consumption, and when to sell, when ne- gotiating the grain prices. AUTOMATED CONTROL & SAFETY Automated is a very important component for any IoT solution. It is the part of the system that realizes machine-to-machine communication allowing for devi- ces to communicate, receive the data from the sensors and consu- me this information to do several tasks. Interconnected actuators can turn grain conditioning mac- hinery on and off and/or regulate the speed of fans. Closed-loop control algorithms residing on cloud infrastructure or edge computers can take multiple data sources as inputs and do complex calculations to achieve the goal set by the user while optimizing the energy consumption. Those appro- aches usually achieve more than 30% energy reduction. In the facilities where pest control pra- ctices are applied, a number of poten- tially dangerous conditions can be cre- ated. Therefore, interconnected fencing monitoring systems as well as alarms can literally save human lives. Such systems are usually found in the perimeter of fu- migated silos and consist of air quality sensors and visual and sound alarms. THE FUTURE OF SUPPLY CHAIN Agri-food is a sector directly related to human health and wellbeing. Therefore, to maintain trust and reliability along the supply chain, in a globalized market it is essential to record data through the whole life cycle of a product, from the farm to the consumer’s fork. Traceability is important for many re- asons, of which, optimization of processes to intensify food production and trust are probably the most impor- tant ones. In all of the cases in which data are collected and sto- red, multiple challenges arise. Those include the owners- hip of the data, the access and sharing mechanisms, the immutability, and the reliability, to name a few. Participa- ting in this game requires that the growers and their faci- lities catch up with the ongoing advances in technology, such as sensing methods, cloud platforms, electronic transactions etc. Fortunately, a good number of solutions developed over the last decade are the key enablers to make this transition of a traditional silo to a wireless silo of the 21st century feasible, graceful, and with a reaso- nable ROI. Centaur.ag is a valuable source of advanced technologies for stored products. Picture 3. Overview of silos scattered in several locations (A: map view and C: list view). B: Detailed view of a silo quantity (in Tons or Bushels) and quality status with pre- dictions up to six months ahead. Picture 4. The optimized aeration plan, based on the type, the con- dition, and the quantity of stored grain inside the silo and the in- ventory sensor/PLC controller for optimal, fully automated aeration.