by LelyNL
Astronaut systems allow dairy farms to operate continuously without manual labor, reducing costs and improving animal welfare through voluntary cow participation.
50,000+ units deploy globally; 2.5M+ cows daily. A5 Next with OTA updates. Max rolls out 2026.
Updated 2026Checked 11 Oct0 updates this week
Cows enter voluntarily when ready. No forced participation; cows maintain natural behavior and visit multiple times daily.
Robot arm uses integrated laser and camera to detect and map each cow's teats, guiding the milking unit to position.
Robot applies vacuum cups and milks while monitoring flow, yield and quality through real-time sensors.
Farmers view herd data via the Lely Hub platform, receiving alerts for health issues, robot maintenance or performance anomalies across the entire farm.
| Spec | Astronaut Robotic Milking System |
|---|---|
| Total units deployed globally | 50,000+R (reported) |
| Cows milked daily | 2,500,000+R (reported) |
| Countries with Astronaut systems | 50+R (reported) |
| Astronaut Max: herd size range | 500–1,100 cowsR (reported) |
R reported by the company
Lely
Astronaut robotic milking, dairy robots
Lely is a Dutch dairy automation manufacturer. The Astronaut robotic milking system includes 50,000+ units milking 2.5M+ cows daily across 50+ countries since 1995. Also makes feeding systems and barn cleaners.
