Arrangement and method for determining positions of the teats of a milking animal
US8210122B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 16, 2010 |
| Grant date | Jul 3, 2012 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 16, 2030 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06T2207/30108
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An arrangement for determining positions of the teats of an animal is provided in a milking system comprising a robot arm for automatically attaching teat cups to the teats of an animal when being located in a position to be milked, and a control device for controlling the movement of the robot arm based on determined positions of the teats of the animal. The arrangement comprises a camera pair directed towards the teats of the animal for repeatedly recording pairs of images, and an image processing device for repeatedly detecting the teats of the animal and determining their positions by a stereoscopic calculation method based on the repeatedly recorded pairs of images, wherein the cameras of the camera pair are arranged vertically one above the other, and the image processing device is provided, for each teat and for each pair of images, to define the position of the lower tip of the teat in the pair of images as conjugate points, and to find the conjugate points along a substantially vertical epipolar line.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.