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LMI Technologies Announces U.S. Patent for Robot Milking Application
POSTED 07/20/2009
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Canada - LMI Technologies Inc. (LMI), a global manufacture of machine vision applied technology with offices in The Netherlands and Sweden, is pleased to announce it has received its first of several worldwide patents for the use of Time of Flight sensors in livestock management from the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Patent 7,490,576 B2 comprises details on how a light projection source and a camera having two dimensional array of pixels, each of which is capable of returning time of flight information as well as intensity. This system has the advantage of being compact, light, and not subject to obstruction limitations of other technologies used in robot milking applications.
LMI has applied the time of flight technology to several sensors including their company’s Tracker 4000 sensor, a technologically advanced device that will create significant improvements to yield performance and farm productivity, livestock well-being, enhanced reliability, increased speed of farm operations and profitability, and improved product quality in the milking process. A short video demonstrating the Tracker 4000 sensor guiding a robotic milking machine to attach suction cups onto a cow’s teats can be viewed through YouTube.
Automated and voluntary milking in dairy farms is a rapidly expanding market, according to LMI Technologies. “The automated process not only frees up valuable time for the farmer, but also reduces the stress level of the cow to encourage a higher yield of milk,” the company said. “There are only a select few companies in the world who specialise in these technologies because the livestock industry is a very difficult and demanding application of machine vision and robot inspection.”
About LMI Technologies Inc. (LMI):
LMI is a privately owned global manufacturer of leading edge machine vision technology solutions. Founded in 1976, LMI began life as a systems integrator designing 3D vision sensors for sawmills. Today, LMI has over 100 patents, is a world leader in several major vertical market areas, and goes to market primarily through original equipment manufacturers, system integrators, engineering consultants, distributors, and in-house engineering teams to design, install and support machine vision systems in both specific vertical market niches such as livestock, and horizontal machine vision markets.
For more information, please visit our web site at www.lmitechnologies.com.