Two new milking robots, along with a new data safety device for farmers, will spearhead Lely’s ongoing ambition to deliver the ‘Farm of the Future’.

Both the Astronaut A5 Next and Astronaut Max build on the success of the Astronaut A5 milking robot.

In addition, Lely Hub - an essential data safety device for farmers – was introduced.

These solutions are designed to meet the evolving needs of modern dairy farming, with a strong focus on improving animal welfare and farmer prosperity.

Lely CEO André van Troost said that the Astronaut A5 Next, Astronaut Max and Lely Hub will “provide farmers with stability in their dairy operations and offer future-proof automatic milking solutions.

"Lely is proudly advancing towards making the Farm of the Future a reality," van Troost said.

The Astronaut A5 Next has, according to the Dutch company, “made the best even better”.

Its all-new and future-proofed operating system includes improves serviceability through remote assistance and over-the-air software updates.

The machine’s “backward compatibility” will enable farmers with an A5 to upgrade to certain features of the A5 Next.

Its robot arm, fitted with both a laser and camera, will provide better visibility of the cow's teats and contribute to improved animal health and welfare.

The A5 Next also benefits from the addition of an automatic milk filter, which has automated  the last remaining manual and repetitive routine in the milking process.

And thanks to Eartag ID, automatic milking can become more accessible to a larger group of farmers worldwide. The A5 Next is available through Lely Centers from today (June 24).

The Astronaut Max can connect up to 18 Astronaut milking robots in one control room, comfortably handling farms with herds ranging between 500 and 1,100 cows.

It supports  peripheral requirements including vacuum, compressed air, cleaning water, udder care, and milk transport while centralising the milking and cleaning processes as well was storage for cleaning and udder care consumables.  

Milking and cleaning can be performed independently of each other, which means the milking robots can remain operational even during service and robot cleaning, significantly increasing uptime and milk capacity.

Available from 2026, following validation and a phased roll-out, van Troost said the Astronaut Max will “introduce a new standard for automatic milking on large scale farms, as Lely continues to bring automatic milking to more farms globally.

For farmers, their farm and herd represent their most valuable assets.

Lely Hub, the third new element in the company’s portfolio, will provide “peace of mind for farmers by improving resilience and data security on-farm, while also supporting both business continuity and animal welfare,” according to van Troost.

Through Lely solutions including the Astronaut and Vector, various sensors collect data about both the cows and the robots.

Lely Hub, which will be rolled out on a phase basis next year, will improve the safety and security of data from Lely robots and Horizon, Lely’s data management platform.

Managed and monitored by Lely, Lely Hub is installed on-farm, and will serve as a shield between the robots and the farmer's computer or mobile phone.

“Business continuity is crucial for our farmers, both in terms of the reliability of the milking processes and digital resilience. Astronaut Max and Astronaut A5 Next are designed to provide farmers with stability in their dairy operations and offer future-proof milking solutions,” said van Troost.

“Furthermore, with the increase in digital services on the farm, data security is essential. Lely Hub supports our farmers by improving digital safety between Lely solutions and the internet.”