Robotic milking system with natural instinct

31 December 1998

Robotic milking system with natural instinct

A robotic milking system is under test which allows cows to follow a more natural pattern of milking, feeding and resting.

The system includes a vision-guided robot which attaches the cups to the cows teats. The teats are then cleaned and dried.

The cows are monitored by an automatic data collection system.

The UKs Silsoe Research Institute developed a prototype of the robot. Alfa Laval Agri has now acquired the rights to the system which is undergoing trials on a herd of 30 cows in Sweden.

The system will go on sale in Europe later this year, according to a report in the Financial Times.