A mechanical "robot" that automatically attaches teat cups to the cow is just around the corner. The big question is who will be first on the market with a fully automatic milker that reduces the time it takes a man or woman to milk a cow to absolute zero?

Leading candidates appear to be Scientists at the Federal Dairy Research Center, Kiel, West Germany, and researchers in Holland who presented a public progress report on their project at the recent RAI show in Amsterdam. The Institute for Mechanization, Labor and Buildings (IMAG) project is backed by several commercial firms, including Philips and Vicon.

In its present stage of development, the "robot" is able to recognize and find the teats, then accurately and gently attach the cups without human help. "When perfected, the device will allow the cow to literally milk itself when it wants to -- a development which is expected to raise milk yields and reduce labor costs substantially," say Dutch researchers at IMAG, headquartered at Wagoningen, Holland.