ROTABOT · The Development of a Next Generation Robotic Milking Parlour

The Rotabot project will deliver an intelligent next generation robotic milking system incorporating automated teat cleaning, cluster attachment and post milking disinfection on a scalable rotary milking installation. The system will be suitable for use in both new and existing rotary milking parlours. The project will integrate a number of novel technologies into a rotary milking parlour with the following objectives 1) To design and develop a rapid 3D imaging system for cow teat recognition and tracking, suitable for rotary milking installations operating in harsh dairy farm environments, 2) To design and develop a robotic system for automatic teat cleaning, cluster attachment and post milking disinfection appropriate for dairy cows in a rotary milking system, 3) To integrate the imaging and robotic technologies into existing or next generation rotary milking parlour design, 4) To evaluate and validate the proposed technology against existing milking methods, 5) To demonstrate and test the resulting prototype in a dairy environment.