This Manure Robot Vacuum Cleans Your Barn Floors Like a Roomba

After hours of grueling research on the internet, I can say with some confidence that farming is hard work. Sure, you can make the lifestyle more entertaining with UFO shaped chicken coops and these ranching crocs, but at the end of the day you’re going to have to go out and get your hands dirty. Luckily, there are innovations out there that make modern farming life a little easier. We’ve shared products like the world’s first motorized wheelbarrow, now check out Lely’s Discovery Collector - a cleaning robot that literally makes messy cattle barns a thing of the past. 

Now get ready for some detailed manure talk.

On some dairy farms, cows might stand for hours in their cubicles as manure builds up around their feet. Research shows that infections related to foot health are among the top three costliest diseases facing dairy cattle farmers today. It’s common knowledge that a dirty environment affects cows’ wellbeing and productivity, but it can be near impossible for the farmer to clean when the barn is densely populated with cattle. 

Enter Lely’s Discovery Collector. 

The machine looks and operates kind of like an industrial sized Roomba robot. Specifically designed for cattle barn floors, the Discovery Collector collects the manure instead of pushing or scraping, while its compact design allows it to travel with ease from one cubicle to the next.

The Discovery Collector has two ultrasonic sensors that allow it to navigate the barn independently, no cables or gutters required. Just program the machine’s route on your cell phone with the Lely app, and you can rest easy knowing that the Discovery Collector will take care of the rest. No need to rearrange the barn or bother the cows. 

In addition to vacuuming up the manure that collects on the barn floor, the Discovery Collector also sprays water from the front and back of the machine. This maximizes the intake and leaves behind a wet floor for additional grip.

This one-two punch of rinsing and vacuuming not only makes the floors nearly spotless, but it also cleans the standing cows’ hooves, ensuring more comfort and better foot health. Happy cow, happy farmer. 

Once the machine is full or has reached the end of its scheduled route, the manure cleaning robot will automatically return to the dumping location.

Lely also offers something called the Lely Sphere. The Sphere is a circular waste handling system that consists of the Discovery Collector, a separation floor, and a large filtration unit. The circulatory system separates the urine from the manure, filtering out the ammonia and turning the mineral rich cow poop into a fertilizer. Simply put, the Sphere makes handling farm waste less.. wasteful. 

Lely is an international family business that focuses on innovative agricultural products. They got their start in 1948, introducing the world’s first finger wheel rake. Since then, the Dutch manufacturers have released countless new inventions that make farmers’ lives easier and more productive. 

What differentiates the Lely manure cleaner is that it doesn't just scrape it like other cleaners on the market, but it also vacuums it up, and automatically dumps out the waste when full!

Using built-in sensors, the Lely manure robot vacuum will navigate the floors of your facility automatically!

You can also program the routes of the manure cleaner to move around the daily routines of the farm!

All of the routines, programs, and settings can be controlled through a tablet or even your phone for full efficiency while working on the farm.

At the end of each route, the robot automatically goes to a dumping location to release the waste and make room for it's next route.

Once fully dumped, and refilled with water, the manure robot will be back cleaning your barn floors once again!

Bags on the inside of the robot hold the water that gets sprayed in the front and back of the robot throughout the route.

As the robot starts filling with manure, the water bags get smaller to make way for waste, thus creating a smaller footprint of the robot with maximum efficiency for its size.

The flat front design of the barn cleaning robot is meant to clean corners with precision!

The cows are kept very comfortable while the manure robot does it's work, as the Lely Discovery works without cables or gutters!

This new manure cleaning robot vacuum makes the build-up of manure – in which cows stand – a thing of the past!

Check out the Lely manure robot in action via the video below.