A livestock automatic rearing system, including a supporting frame, grooved floor panels, an operating robot, horizontal and longitudinal conveyors. Animals are reared on grooved panels with feces hold in the grooves. The operating robot is programmed to remove feces, clean up floor panels, pick up dead or sick animals and bring all these objects out of the building through a conveyor system. The autonomous operating robot also assists young animal placement, finished animal, and final cleaning and disinfection. With sensors and AI system, the robot provides behavior observation, health diagnosis, early warning, and remote medical treatment. An underfloor environment control system provides better and comforts air with reduced energy. The system will help reduce farmer's labor in an unpleasant environment, improve animal welfare, increate production effectiveness, and reduce biosecurity risk through the elimination contact of humans with animals.

An autonomous vehicle includes a frame with a motor, a bumper connected to the frame via a connecting device, and a sensor detecting displacement of the bumper upon a collision. The sensor is connected with a propulsion system that interrupts displacing the vehicle upon detecting a displacement. The connecting device includes a ring, a first ball part, a second ball part, a shaft, and a spring. The ring is fixedly connected to the frame, and the first and second ball part rotatably tilt in the ring. The shaft extends through the ring and the first ball part, and through and beyond the second ball part to a second end, at which the shaft is connected to the bumper by a joint. At least one ball part is displaceable along the shaft. The spring extends around the shaft between the second ball part and a spring connector, and pretensionedly presses the first and second ball parts against the ring. Upon a collision with an obstacle, the bumpers shifts, and the shaft tilts with respect to the frame. This tilting pushes the two ball parts away from each other. The spring also tilts, as a whole, preventing plastic deformation. The spring now exerts a larger spring force on the ball parts, and, after taking away the obstacle, will move back and realign. This will also realign the sensor, ensuring a longer effective lifetime of the sensor and thus of the safety of the vehicle.

A method and arrangement for controlling the operation of a manure scraper that operates responsive to information obtained from one or more cameras mounted so as to capture images of the area of operation of the scraper.

An infrastructure arrangement and method for a farm animal shed includes a stationary position determination network having multiple optics-free position determination network points and at least one autonomous shed vehicle. The autonomous shed vehicle has a drive and a charging interface for the drive, an optics-free position determination apparatus, a coupling apparatus for detachably securing various functional units, and a control unit. The infrastructure arrangement and method also includes at least one charging station for charging the drive of the autonomous shed vehicle, at least one fitting station for fitting the autonomous shed vehicle with various functional units and/or work materials, and at least one data transmission unit, wherein the control unit of the autonomous shed vehicle is designed to take information of the position determination apparatus and of the data transmission unit as a basis for generating a schedule for the autonomous shed vehicle.

A farm system comprising a plurality of smart tags which are each configured to be worn by an animal, a transmitter and receiver unit for wireless communication with the smart tag, one control unit which is communicatively connected to the transmitter and receiver unit and a farm unit which can be controlled by the control unit. Each smart tag comprises at least one sensor and is configured for wirelessly transmitting information obtained by one of the sensors to the transmitter and receiver unit, wherein the transmitter and receiver unit is configured for supplying the received information to the control unit and wherein the control unit is configured for processing the received information and, at least on the basis of this processed information, controlling at least a farm unit and/or generating a report signal for indicating to a user of the system that an activity is to be carried out.

A manure-removal vehicle and an assembly thereof having a manure-discharging location. The vehicle comprises a pump and a tank having an air discharge. The vehicle collects manure by means of a scraper and this is subsequently suctioned up via a manure extraction opening in the tank. The pump works at low power and in particular at low pressure, due to the fact that a constant stream of manure is collected in front of the opening, in particular if a sealing plate is provided.

An autonomous cleaning robot includes a drive operable to move the autonomous cleaning robot across a floor surface; a cleaning assembly configured to clean the floor surface; a receiver configured to receive an indication of cat activity in a cat box; and a controller configured to navigate the autonomous cleaning robot to the cat box to execute a cleaning mission in response to the received indication of cat activity.

An animal-pen vehicle, a method for moving an animal-pen vehicle on a floor surface with bedding, and the use of an animal-pen vehicle in a poultry pen for poultry animals and/or in a pig pen is disclosed for the purposes of influencing positions at which poultry animals and/or pigs are residing. The animal-pen vehicle includes a substantially emissions-free drive, at least one movement unit which is coupled to the drive, wherein the movement unit is adapted to permit a movement of the animal-pen vehicle on the bedding, a position-determining device for determining a position of the animal-pen vehicle relative to animal-pen fixtures, and a control device for controlling the drive and for providing a predetermined travel profile, wherein the predetermined travel profile comprises at least one movement pattern and at least one preferential area that is to be travelled to within the poultry pen and/or pig pen.

An apparatus is provided for cleaning a floor, and in particular a barn floor having a lower portion and an elevated portion that intersect to form a curb. The apparatus is attached to a vehicle that travels in a longitudinal direction. The apparatus includes a scraper for scraping the lower portion of the floor. The scraper is pivotally attached to the vehicle for adjusting a transverse position of an end of the scraper into abutment with the curb. The apparatus also includes a cleaning head for moving material from the elevated portion of the floor. The cleaning head is attached to an arm. The arm is pivotally attached to the scraper for adjusting a transverse position of the cleaning head into alignment with the elevated portion of the floor. The cleaning head is actuated to sweep material transversely into the path of the scraper as the vehicle moves in the longitudinal direction.

An infrastructure arrangement and method for a farm animal shed includes a stationary position determination network having multiple optics-free position determination network points and at least one autonomous shed vehicle. The autonomous shed vehicle has a drive and a charging interface for the drive, an optics-free position determination apparatus, a coupling apparatus for detachably securing various functional units, and a control unit. The infrastructure arrangement and method also includes at least one charging station for charging the drive of the autonomous shed vehicle, at least one fitting station for fitting the autonomous shed vehicle with various functional units and/or work materials, and at least one data transmission unit, wherein the control unit of the autonomous shed vehicle is designed to take information of the position determination apparatus and of the data transmission unit as a basis for generating a schedule for the autonomous shed vehicle.