Students from KTH helping to shape the future of robotic milking
Source: The DairyNews
At DeLaval’s global headquarters in Tumba, our collaboration with KTH Royal Institute of Technology is yielding impressive results. Two standout contributors from this partnership are Omed Khirzia and Simon Ryberg, who are in the process of patenting their work with us.
We sat down with them to discuss their use of advanced technologies to innovate robotic milking (though, understandably, the specifics of their work are currently confidential) and to explore what drew them to this research area.
“Mechatronics has always fascinated me,” Omed explains. He says that even before his bachelor’s, he was drawn to it because of its mix of electronics, software, and building things.
“It’s not just about coding or circuits; you also get to build the real, physical device which I really value,” he says. “Learning mechatronics broadens your skills in electrical and software engineering, which is super helpful and complements our bachelor’s degrees.”
Omed also points out that it’s you can use it in your own projects too. “If you want to make something cool in your spare time, mechatronics lets you do that. And let’s be real, working with robots? That’s just awesome.”
Today Omed is working with DeLaval’s Robotic Milking department as part of his thesis research.
Simon Ryberg is collaborating with the Product Development Department at DeLaval for his thesis research as a mechanical engineer. He says he was drawn to the subject due to its multidisciplinary nature: “You get to design mechanical systems, electrical systems, and program control systems. I love the idea of being able to contribute to and design all parts of a complex system.”
Working with complex systems and robotics is exactly what the pair are working on as part of their thesis research at DeLaval. Their focus is on improving the machine used for milking cows, particularly the robotic arm used on the VMS 300. They aim to improve the control of the robotic arm with the help of neural networks, a form of artificial intelligence (AI).
“We hope that this method will help simplify the development process for control in the future. Instead of sitting with a pen and paper, deriving how a machine such as the VMS works, we hope to let the machine tell us how it works, with the help of AI,” Simon says.
“Robotics has been a huge interest for all of us in mechatronics. The opportunity to work on a robotic arm wasn’t something we wanted to miss. We have some experience working with control theory, and with the booming of AI, new solutions are to be explored. So, using this with the robotic arm was an exciting task to focus on.”
The pair got into contact with DeLaval in 2023 following last year’s project between DeLaval and KTH.
Speaking about the collaboration, Simon says, “A project where a company lets university students collaborate in a research and development project. Working with DeLaval with that project opened our eyes to DeLaval. It was a really fun project, and DeLaval was great to work with. When the time came for us to do our master’s thesis, DeLaval was an obvious choice. We’ve been well taken care of here, all of our colleagues are really helpful and always there to offer us guidance when we have doubts or concerns, and the ice cream machine is a great addition!” he says with a laugh.
“Mechatronics has always fascinated me,” Omed explains. He says that even before his bachelor’s, he was drawn to it because of its mix of electronics, software, and building things.
“It’s not just about coding or circuits; you also get to build the real, physical device which I really value,” he says. “Learning mechatronics broadens your skills in electrical and software engineering, which is super helpful and complements our bachelor’s degrees.”
Omed also points out that it’s you can use it in your own projects too. “If you want to make something cool in your spare time, mechatronics lets you do that. And let’s be real, working with robots? That’s just awesome.”
Today Omed is working with DeLaval’s Robotic Milking department as part of his thesis research.
Simon Ryberg is collaborating with the Product Development Department at DeLaval for his thesis research as a mechanical engineer. He says he was drawn to the subject due to its multidisciplinary nature: “You get to design mechanical systems, electrical systems, and program control systems. I love the idea of being able to contribute to and design all parts of a complex system.”
Working with complex systems and robotics is exactly what the pair are working on as part of their thesis research at DeLaval. Their focus is on improving the machine used for milking cows, particularly the robotic arm used on the VMS 300. They aim to improve the control of the robotic arm with the help of neural networks, a form of artificial intelligence (AI).
“We hope that this method will help simplify the development process for control in the future. Instead of sitting with a pen and paper, deriving how a machine such as the VMS works, we hope to let the machine tell us how it works, with the help of AI,” Simon says.
“Robotics has been a huge interest for all of us in mechatronics. The opportunity to work on a robotic arm wasn’t something we wanted to miss. We have some experience working with control theory, and with the booming of AI, new solutions are to be explored. So, using this with the robotic arm was an exciting task to focus on.”
The pair got into contact with DeLaval in 2023 following last year’s project between DeLaval and KTH.
Speaking about the collaboration, Simon says, “A project where a company lets university students collaborate in a research and development project. Working with DeLaval with that project opened our eyes to DeLaval. It was a really fun project, and DeLaval was great to work with. When the time came for us to do our master’s thesis, DeLaval was an obvious choice. We’ve been well taken care of here, all of our colleagues are really helpful and always there to offer us guidance when we have doubts or concerns, and the ice cream machine is a great addition!” he says with a laugh.
