ILAS2000 Pairing Robot

The ILAS2000 sample pairing robot came about when LIC in New Zealand (LIC) found that off-the-shelf robotics could not offer the performance they required in a complex sample-pairing operation. Intellitech were able to design and build a prototype that went through rigorous analysis and optimisation, and was able to meet all performance criteria. They have since built a further seven sample pairing robots for LIC.

When a milk sample is taken from a herd of cows at both the morning and evening milking, each sample can be separately analysed, or the two samples can be combined proportionally (according to AM and PM milking volumes). Having staff fetch each sample, shake them, proportion the volumes and then manually combine them is labour intensive, and this is made even more difficult when the samples are randomly located in the trays.

The ILAS2000 sample pairing robot is designed to automate this task. One of the challenges of performing this pairing operation is to do this quickly despite randomly placed samples, and the distance the pickup gripper has to travel between the input and output tray locations. Intellitech now hold patents covering the innovative designs that enabled them to solve this task, and produce a robust and reliable machine that can efficiently perform this task whilst maintaining sample integrity.