Robot milking requires a different concept of herd management than con
ventional milking. The labour routine and the cow behavioural routine
are modified substantially with robot milking. Thus, almost all of the
activities traditionally associated with animal care must be reorgani
zed. Some tasks are eliminated and new activities are necessary. One o
f the greatest changes is computerized monitoring, analysis, and contr
ol of individual animals in a manner that is transparent to the user,
and that is substantially advanced beyond conventional milking. The ch
anges in management required for robot milking offer many potential ad
vantages to both the herd manager and the cow. At the same time, there
are many new challenges both to the manager and to the cow because of
the different role played by each when milking is performed by a robo
t. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.