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Photo by Steven Thomas, GTRI
Related articles:
Researchers Make Strides in the Development of an Automated System
to Hang Live Birds |
Automatic Intelligent Transfer System
The intelligent transfer system project continued to progress toward
developing an automated system for transferring live birds from a moving
conveyor belt to a moving shackle line. The project team focused on
refining methods to integrate the processes of singulating, separating,
grasping birds from the moving conveyor, and locating the head of a
grasped bird for subsequent electrical stunning, shackling, inverting,
and humane killing. Three specific tasks addressed by the project were:
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The
further development of a preliminary live-bird handler consisting
of a singulator that spaces the incoming birds, a separator that
places
the singulated birds onto equally spaced compartmentalized perches
on a moving conveyor, and the moving graspers mentioned earlier.
Software is being developed for the preliminary handler.
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The development of a computer-controlled system that uses
pairs of moving mechanical hands with soft rubber fingers to
cradle singulated birds from the moving conveyor. Once the bird
is grasped
by its body, the mechanical hands continuously cradle the bird
for the subsequent processes (re-orientation, loading onto the
pallet,
shackling of both legs, and locating the bird’s head to render
it instantaneously insensitive).
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The development of new humane
killing methods that integrate the processes of locating/positioning
the head of the grasped bird, electrical stunning while the bird
is being cradled in its upright position, and shackling/ inverting
of
the stunned bird. This design would greatly simplify the mechanical
processes and improve the success rate of shackling both legs
of the bird as well as eliminate wing flapping during the inversion
process,
which is followed immediately with the neck cut.
Bird reflexes to
each of the three tasks mentioned above were studied experimentally
with
live birds at the University of Georgia. The team’s immediate
focus is to complete the control software that synchronizes motions
among the processes of the preliminary live-bird handler for testing
with a large number of birds.
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