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Lelys Discovery Collector.
Dairy automation specialist Lely has developed a version of its Discovery robot to remove manure from solid floors, unlike the original which could only push muck through floor slats.
The Discovery Collector contains a vacuum pump to ‘hoover’ up manure after first softening it with a front mounted water nozzle, then using a following spray to wet the floor to prevent it becoming slippery.
On board, two water bladders of 70L capacity are filled from a docking station at the end of a cycle, and in a neat piece of design, the bladder containing the manure expands as the water tanks empty.
After a run, manure is emptied from the machine at a designated dump site.
The Collector navigates independently using in-built sensors, following an easily programmed, pre-determined path at pre-determined times.
Available in Europe in early 2017 and elsewhere later in the year.
http://www.lely.com
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