Astronaut Milking Machine

Lely's Astronaut A3 robotic milking system uses sensor technologies and integrated data management to create a total dairy farm management solution.

Dutch company Lely Industries’ Astronaut A3 robotic milking system uses sensor technologies and integrated data management to create a total dairy farm management solution. In most cases, cows are milked more than twice a day, which increases typical yields up to 20%. A quality control system also monitors udder health and milk quality through color and conductivity measurements.

Data related to each milking is processed in real time and registered in the T4C management system. Many peripherals—such as a feeding system, alarm system, cleaning system or direction system—can be linked to the central supervision PC via Ethernet network for real-time data communication management.

The Astronaut A3 milking robot incorporates a robotic arm, which conveys the teat cups underneath the cow to avoid upsetting the animal. The arm is designed to withstand heavy pressure so that, even if the cow should stand on it, no damage would result. The machine’s 4effect pulsation system is used to expedite the milking process at the quarter level.

Lely’s Astronaut also can detect and separate milk containing blood. The milking robot also uses sensors to check milk color, conductivity and flow. All data can be accessed from anywhere via the T4C management program or the on-machine X-Link interface. The machine also creates an animal-friendly environment by letting the cow decide how it wants to stand for milking and then using floor sensors to determine the animal’s position.

This video shows the machine in action and explains the automation behind its features. 


Read our article Milking Robot Uses Ethernet for Data to learn more about Lely's Astronaut A3 robotic milking system.

Copyright Lely Holding S.à r.l, worldwide robotic milking systems (www.lely.com)