A22*Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 17,1990
University of Maryland
Gets Milking Robot
COLLEGE PARK, Md.
Maryland’s Agricultural Experi
ment Station (MAES) has
obtained exclusive North Ameri
can research and development
rights to a prototype robotic milk
ing system developed by the
Dutch company Gascoigne-
Melotte.
Dr. Robert Kennedy, MAES
director, and Mr. Harry
Gschwindt, representing the gov
ernor’s office and the Maryland
Department of Economic and
Employment Development,
signed a letter of intent with
Gascoigne-Melotte Jan. 15 in the
Netherlands.
Maryland Gov. William Donald
Schaefer officially signed the
agreement with Mr. Martin Olde
Monnikhof, agriculture attache for
The Royal Netherlands ambassa
dor for trade promotion and export
enhancement, at the annual Mary
land Agricultural Dinner, Feb. 1 at
Martin’s West near Baltimore.
“This agreement initiates a
MAES program into state-of-the
art robotics research,” said Ken
nedy. “Although this equipment is
designed to be used in the dairy
industry, the technology - includ
A closer look at the robotic milking machine shows the wires and hoses used to con*
trol the device automatically.
SELL
IT
WITH
A
LANCASTER
FARMING
CLASSIFIED
ing software, hardware expert sys
tems and biosensors - can eventu
ally be used to benefit other agri
cultural industries.
“The prototype robotic milking
system is a fully automated milk
ing and feeding system that can
provide immediate milk produc
tion and dairy cow nutritional
information without human
intervention,” Kennedy added.
“This equipment will also facil
itate current MAES animal nutri
tion and behavior research, and we
anticipate its use by MAES scien
tists studying biosensors and
expert systems. We also have
begun the process of recruiting
scientists in the area of robotics.”
Gascoigne-Melotte, an interna
tional milking equipment and
dairy automation manufacturer
based in the Netherlands, is sup
plying MAES with a computer
ized feeding (ID-2000), milk yield
recording and herd information
(MR-2000), and management sys
tem (MR-2000), and the prototype
robotic milking system.
The ID-2000 and MR-2000 are
both “stand alone” electronic sys
tems: the FM-2000 integrates the
tobotic milking devices eliminate the need for manual labor, according to research
ers. This machine hooks onto the cow’s teats ail by itself.
entire dairy operation via a per- totype robotic milker is currently The FM-2000 provides inter
sonal computer. being used on a farm at the Dutch pretation of the MR-2000 and
After 5 years of development experiment station “Waiboer- ID-2000 data, herd status and
by Gascoigne-Melotte, the pro- hoeve.” Besides “Waiboerhoeve” planning.
research, MAES will be the only The milk yield recording and
location in the world where a herd management system comes
robotic milking system is in use. to MAES after the recent signing
MAES_Gascoigne-Melotte and of the agreement. This equipment
“Waiboerhoeve” will collaborate will considerably reduce the time
on several research aspects of required to get data to MAES
robotics and software design. researchers.
The ID-2000 feeding system The prototype robotic milker is
being received by MAES uses expected to be operational by
transponders, small passive trans- Nov. lat the Clarksville Facility
mitters, to identify each cow and of MAES’ Central Maryland
make necessary adjustments in Research and Education Center,
feed supply. The MR-2000 system Gascoigne-Melotte is repre
rccords actual milk yield, and sented in the United States by
tracks herd information for each Clay Equipment Corporation of
animal. Cedar Falls, lowa.
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