Robotic Milker

Teacher Preparation

Learning Goal

Upon completion of this lesson, students will be able to identify basic information about how the DeLaval VMS-V300 Robot (robotic milker at the dairy) helps the OSU dairy function.

Learning Standards

PK.1.R.1 Students will actively listen and speak using agreed upon rules with guidance and support.
PK.1.R.2 Students will begin to ask and answer questions about information presented orally or through text or other media with guidance and support.
PK.4.R.1 Students will acquire new content-specific, grade-level vocabulary and relate new words to prior knowledge with guidance and support.
PK.6.R Students will begin to identify pictures, charts, grade-appropriate texts or people as sources of information on a topic of interest.
PK.S.6 Students will engage in investigations based on curiosity and wondering about the physical and natural world.

Resources & Materials

Visuals in the center
Student tour guides
DeLaval VMS
Nicole Sanders, dairy herd manager

Lesson Delivery

Anticipatory Set

What do you think of when I say robot?
- Encourage students to answer and describe what they think of as a robot.
- Did you know that we use robots to help us every day?
  - Does anyone have a Roomba or shark vacuum at home?
  - There’s even a robot that mows people’s yards for them.
Robots help us perform tasks and save time, so we have a new robot here at the dairy that helps us milk the cows.

Content Outline
Meet our Robotic Milker! (from Nicole Sanders, dairy herd manager)
This is our DeLaval VMS-V300 Robot. It can milk up to 60 cows; we have about 55 cows who are entered into the system and can use the robot.
Each cow spends on average about 6 minutes and 30 seconds in the robot and sets her own daily milking schedule. This helps keep the cows more comfortable, which means they produce better milk, and they can be milked more often with the robot than by hand.
Why do we have a robot? (From DeLaval VMS)
Direct students to the monitor as it reports data from the cows; As you can see, the robot tells us a lot that we may not be able to know without it. The robot can tell us: Milk flow How much milk she gave last time versus this time. How many times she has been milked in the robot. It tells us all that and more in a short amount of time.
We can see all this information in reports that can be sent directly to our herd manager, Nicole. This means she can track when cows go into the milker, how often they are being milked, and she can change how many times each cow can be milked.
Using a robot can also improve cleanliness while milking. It prepares each quarter of the udder for milking by using a combination of teat spray for disinfecting and the DeLaval PureFlow™ cup for proper cleaning. Once attached, the DeLaval PureFlow™ cup uses a unique combination of air, water and the DeLaval PureFlow™ cup to clean, stimulate and strip the teat to get ready for milking.
The robot has also provided student workers with the opportunity to gain hands on experience with new methods of milking. We can even provide students with the ability to network with members of the industry. This allows students to form relationships with prospective employers.

Learning Activity

Students should be encouraged to draw the robot with a cow in it, the metrics screen and anything else that helps the students remember the robotic milker.

Closing Announcements/Reminders

Answer any questions they may have.
Show them the robot and viewing windows and encourage them to make observations and ask questions.
Thank the students for coming to the Ferguson Family Dairy Center.