摘要 |
A method and apparatus for automatically milking animals such as cows which includes one or more milking compartments, each milking compartment having a milking robot including teat cups which are supported by a robot arm member. A detector that generates beams and uses their reflections for determining the position of the teats of an animal in a milking compartment is disposed on a robot arm construction spacially separated from the robot arm member. The robot arm construction is maneuverable up and down and side-to-side and is mounted so that its beams can scan the animal's teats from different directions. The milking robot is capable of connecting the teat cups to the animal's teats selectively simultaneously or non-simultaneously and automatically uncoupling the teat cups from the animal's teats either simultaneously or non-simultaneously.
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