Lely’s latest robot milker – called the A4 – claims to take automation a step further by giving the cow more freedom.

The A4 differs in quite a number of ways to the existing A3 Next, which will continue to be available for the foreseeable future. It is a modular, self-contained system with a central vacuum and cleaning system for up to two cow units.

Lely says this flexibility makes it not only suitable for family farms in the 300,000-litres/year bracket, but also for large dairy herds producing more than 10m litres of milk a year.

On the outside, the most visible difference is the walk-through design. Dubbed I-flow, the cow-friendly concept allows animals to walk straight in and out of the box, eliminating any unnecessary obstacles and reducing cow stress.

The use of 3D cameras to establish the exact position of the cow is also new and does away with the previous floor weighing system, which is now in the list of options.

Although the robot arm looks similar to the one on the A3 Next, the former’s air-operated ram for horizontal movements has been replaced with an electric drive. Not only does this help to reduce air consumption – and reduce noise – but compressed air requirements have been cut by swapping the former air-driven brush motor for an electrically-driven one.

The robot arm features lots of new technology to simplify maintenance, and many key wear parts have been changed into easy-to-replace cartridge systems. Sleeve replacement, for example, is now a job that can be done by any farmer in under five minutes.

The standalone pulsator is new, and there is also a fresh positive-displacement milk-friendly pump, which replaces the previous centrifugal design and should lead to better milk quality, says Lely.

The Astronaut A4 comes in two models. The Manager is a general system for all farms, while the Operator is for farms wanting much more detailed information.

The first machines should arrive in the UK from March 2011.