Development of an autonomous cow-milking robot control system

The development of overall control for a robot system that is used to milk cows at the cow's own demand (without intervention by the farmer) is described. The focus is on design of the inner- and outer-loop control of the robot arm developed especially for this system. The strategy for connecting the milking cups to the cow (consisting of an approach mode, capture mode and locking mode) is highlighted. The position of the teats of the cow is measured with a specially designed ultrasonic sensor system. The kinematic and dynamic models of the robot arm have been derived for simulation purposes with the aid of experimental data. In an initial experimental implementation with live cows, the system performed well, and the complete system is currently undergoing practical tests. The first results of the tests have proved that it is feasible to milk cows autonomously.<
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