For the grain belt this is such a wonderful idea!!!

Weevils are grain devouring pests farmers don't want to see in their storage bins.

But they may actually welcome a robotic one.

"We call this the Grain Weevil because it scurries across the top of the grain a lot like the grain weevils," Ben Johnson said.

Johnson, an electrical engineer graduate and his former roommate Zane Zents, a computer science engineer graduate, developed a 25 lbs robot propelled by augers.

They got the idea after talking to a friend who farms.

"You build robots, why don't you build me a robot so I never have to get into a grain bin and so my kids don't either," Johnson said.

They say the problem farmers face is that moisture can cause the grain to crust. That hinders drying or grain removal.

Someone has to go into the bin and break it up with a shovel.

"A person goes in and stands on that crust, it can collapse underneath them. They can fall and get buried," Zents said.

In the U.S. last year, there were 35 grain entrapments. Most were in the Corn Belt.

A little less than half of the people buried didn't survive.

"So we're going to send the robot in to manipulate the grain, break up that crust so a person never has to take that risk," Zents said.

Their invention received a $10,000 prize from MIT through the Lemelson Foundation.

They will use the money for additional trials this summer.

Right now, the robot is remote-controlled.

"Like you would a racing game," Zents said.

They want to make it automatic.

"You put it in, press a button, walk away don't worry about it," Zents said.

They said the robot is portable, waterproof and dustproof.

It'll cost about $3,000. But they believe it could save producers money and lives.

"It will allow us to manage the grain better than a farmer with a shovel as well as keep them out of there as a safety aspect," Johnson said.