Agriculture Robot, Milking Robot

An Introduction to Agriculture Robots

Agriculture is the science, art and industry of managing the growth of plants and animals for use by humans. In general, agriculture includes soil cultivation, growing and harvesting crops, raising and breeding livestock, dairy, and forestry (Crop Farming, Animal Husbandry, Dairy Farming, Forestry, Poultry Farming, Soil Management). [http://www.farmingrobot.com/]

In agriculture, the opportunities for robot-enhanced productivity are immense - and the robots are appearing on farms in various guises and in increasing numbers.

Milking robots
Sheep Shearing robot
Crop scouts robot that collect data in the field
Mechanical weeding and micro spraying robot
Planting, seedbed preparation, spraying, cultivation are all possible with smaller agriculture robots using GPS guidance
Harvesting robots

Milking Robotic System
What is Milking Robot? The milking robotic system is designed to allow cows to choose how often they are milked each day. A milking robot identifies the cow, usually by an electronic tag, and determines if the cow is to be milked. Once a cow has been approved for milking, the milking robot begins the milking process. When milking is completed, the milk is measured and pumped away. All milking information is then saved in the robot?s computer system. Components of Milking Robotic System: The Robotic Arm The Milking System Farm management system Others like cooling system, weighing unit and so on. Parlor Design:
Parallel Milking Robot Parlor
Rotary Milking Robot Parlor
Herringhone Milking Robot Parlor
Milking Robot Parlor
Lely Astronaut Robotic Milking System
The Lely robot arm The Lely robot arm is robust. Even if a cow stands on the arm with her full weight, no harm will be done because of the built-in overload protection, which also protects the more sensitive positioning components. The secret of the arm is that is stays underneath the cow and that it controls and monitors the whole milking process, starting with udder preparation and ending after removal of the last teat cup and spraying of the teats. Teat cleaning, milking and spraying are all carried out by the single arm, which moves underneath the cow at the beginning of the milking process and is not removed until the full milking process has been completed. Milking System The Astronaut milking robot provides several ways to separate milk. Fixed periods for milk separation can be set by means of the management programme. In addition, dairy farmers can separate milk on an individual basis. This separated milk may serve several purposes, but it is most commonly used to feed the calves. Colostrum can be separated on the basis of fixed settings, date or the number of milkings. Furthermore, the unique MQC sensor system offers the possibility to detect - and separate - colostrum, milk containing blood as well as abnormal milk. Farm Management System The dairy management system uses the built-in sensors in the robot, the MQC - Milk Quality Control - sensors, the Gravitor weighing unit, the cow's behaviour and concentrates given in the robot to convey a general overview and quick analysis of the herd data. It interprets, arranges and saves data with a simple click of your computer mouse and generates alarms when actions are required.
Fullwood Merlin Robotic Milking System
Robotic Arm When the cow enters the Fullwood Merlin Robotic Milking System for the first time her teat coordinates are scanned and stored in the computer. Every time she enter after the initial occasion, the laser optic makes minute alterations to her original coo-ordinate to take into account any physiological changes that have taken place due to her stage in lactation. Teat cups are then attached one by one. The cow follower rests on the rear of the cow allowing the cow to move back and forward within the stall with the robotic arm tracking her every movement. The position of the teat cups is also flexible to follow the movement of the cow. Sensors installed monitor each individual quarter's milk flow and initiate removal of each teat cup when the quarter has finished milking. This avoids unnecessary over milking. Milking System The user has the choice of programming a series of backflushing options after each milking. After a cow has been milked the back flush cleaning system sends a jet of water with compressed air back down the liners and foremilk rejection chambers. By removing milk residue in this manner any cross contamination between cows is avoided. Farm Management System Data is collected from the milk meters, pedometers, transponders, feeding systems and other process systems before being sent to the PC. This data is then analyzed and converted into useful information for dairy farm management. Some of the information available to the dairy farmer: Cows: Feed, Milk Yield, Activity Milk: Quantity, Conductivity, Agency Data Others such as Complete individual animal records, Milk yield management reporting, Medicine book and movement book and so on.
DeLaval Robotic Milking System
Hydraulic multi-purpose robotic arm The DeLaval VMS hydraulic multi-purpose robotic arm takes care of preparing the teats before milking (including optional pre-spray), attaches the teat cups, re-attaches if needed, aligns the milk tube and sprays the teats after milking. Milking System DeLaval VMS has four optical milk meters monitoring milk yields, flow rates, time, conductivity and blood levels. Farm Management System A touch screen gives you easy control during milking. You have real-time access to all the monitoring information you need such as cow ID, quarter flow rate, volume and cleaning status of the milking process. The remote control software allows you to monitor and control your DeLaval VMS without physically being at the station. Now you can connect from anywhere within your own network or even wirelessly for more independence, less disturbance and better control.
GM Zenith Robotic Milking System
Milking Robotic Arm Depending on the requirements of the GM Zenith Robotic Milking the robotic arm may be linked to one, two, three or four milking boxes. The attachment of the teat cups to the teats is controlled by a system of double ultrasonic sound waves. A ?rough? sensor detects the first teat and follows the movement of the animal. Then, depending on the location of the first teat, the ?fine? sensor locates the other teats and the attachment of the cluster follows. The washing of each teat is done separately inside the teat cup. The washing is based on a mixture of water and air. The risk of teat-to-teat cross infection is reduced to a minimum. The robotic arm takes care of optimal positioning, whilst the milking arm takes care of successful attachment and removal. Milking System The GM Zenith milking system milk flow controlled stimulation and individual pulsation. If the milk flow dos not start, it increases the number of pulsations. Each box is provided with its own milking installation. Each installation is equipped with two milk lines: one for discharging the milk to the tank, the second to discharge milk that is to be separated. Meanwhile, it is of the utmost importance that the milk en-route from the robot to the cooling tank is cooled quickly. This is to reduce the risk of bacteria infection.
Farm management system The GM Zenith Milking farm management System enables you to administrate matters like reproduction (cow calendar), milk yields and feeding, and to displays your current farm information on the screen. When the cows visit the GM Zenith, the Milking System gathers the latest data regarding the performance of your animals. The system shows, through simple reports, if the animals visit the Zenith either above or below your expectations.