Feed bin level monitoring system

The measurement of ultrasonic, radar or even laser technologies is indeed more accurate and very effective especially on tanks containing liquid material because it remains a flat surface and does not cause problems when emptying as feed product that can sometimes stick to the walls of the silos and filling in the form of a cone as emptying in the form of an inverted cone. This phenomenon of inverted cones can also disturb the reading process of radar, ultrasound or laser sensors, along with a dust-free environment.

The initial development of BinConnect was therefore about finding the right balance between different key points for our customers: to have a measurement accurate enough to go through the weekends and to anticipate any shortage of stock while keeping the integrity of the silo tank and this at the lowest possible price. Besides, it was essential to have a robust and maintenance free sensor, which we have achieved with BinConnect. From the beginning, we have been working closely with key players in the animal nutrition industry to meet the needs of the market. Our product has been specially designed to work for at least 5 years on battery thanks to a low-power communication technology, even in harsh environments with extreme temperature variations and lots of dust commonly encountered in any kind of silo in the farming industry. The main objective of our level measurement solution is to enable large scale logistic optimization, with the lowest possible total cost of ownership and the easiest installation process possible.

Automatizing calibration thanks to a strong Artificial Intelligence

Another reason why the installation of the sensor is so easy and fast is that there is no need to calibrate it on site or to make any measurement of the silo’s shape. Also, there is no need to plan an installation when the bin level is full or empty, we can take it into account later as the sensor will begin measuring the leg’s strain and temperature from its activation.
As a result, it is unnecessary to stop the feeding process and everything can be done remotely to save as much time as possible and to make it as easy as possible to deploy the solution on a large scale.
Two types of data are required to calibrate the sensor and make you receive the fill information of your bins: fill information (e.g. our customers automate the delivery information through a regular CSV or API export) as well as empty level references (0). This information can be sent through our web platform or even with our mobile application in the easiest way possible. The data sent by the device is then processed by algorithms specifically developed in-house for use in farms. This enables us to provide our customers with a stock levels measurement and forecasts control application for the next four days.

Another advantage of BinConnect is that our artificial intelligence has been designed and developed to work on all types of bins. Regardless of the content inside and the temperature outside, our algorithms will process the data automatically. The temperature effects on the metal leg are also corrected by our algorithms in order to have a silo level indicator that is accurate enough for the use case in the farming industry.