GB2529166A

GB2529166A - Animal excrement collection

Info

Publication number: GB2529166A
Application number: GB1414218.6A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Simon James Webber
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2014-08-11
Filing date: 2014-08-11
Publication date: 2016-02-17
Anticipated expiration: 2034-08-11
Also published as: GB201414218D0; GB2534265A; GB201519141D0; WO2016023716A1; GB2534265B; GB2529166B

Abstract

Animal excrement collection apparatus, comprising a robotic animal excrement collector 101 having a body, a propulsion system for driving the body along a ground surface, a navigation system for self-guiding the body within an environment 202 in which animal excrement is to be collected, a detection system for identifying animal excrement, a loading arrangement for picking up animal excrement, an unloading arrangement for dropping off picked up animal excrement, and a control system for controlling operations of the robotic animal excrement collector. An animal excrement collection system comprising an autonomous robotic animal excrement collector programmed to: a) navigate within an area to be cleared of animal excrement, b) pick up animal excrement 103 from a first location,and c) deliver collected animal excrement to a second location 203. A base station for use with an autonomous robotic animal excrement collector. An animal wearable sensor device for use with an autonomous robotic animal excrement collector.

Description

ANIMAL EXCREMENT COLLECTION

Reid of the Invention The present invention relates to animal excrement collection, in particular to animal excrement collection apparatus comprising a robotic animal excrement collector and an animal excrement collection system comprising an autonomous robotic animal excrement collector.

Backqround of the Invention The collection of animal excrement from a garden, paddock or other space is important for human and animal health and the pleasantness of our surroundings.

Some undesirable aspects of the collection of animal excrement include the unappealing prospect of having to go outdoors in inclement weather, and the unattractive look, repellent odour and repulsive feel of faeces. Other bothersome issues include the inconvenience of frequent clearing of areas, potential discomfort from bending and lifting and the desire to maintain a hygienic barrier between the person picking up the animal waste and the animal waste itself.

Certain other issues relate to particular type of animals. For example, dogs are carnivores and dog droppings contain parasites and bacteria that can be harmful to animals and/or humans, such as Escherichia coil (also known as E. coil, a faecal coliform bacteria), which can cause gastroenteritis and urinary tract infections in humans, and Toxocara canis (also known as dog roundworm, a parasitic nematode), which can be fatal in puppies and which can cause blindness and organ damage in humans. Collection of dog waste should therefore be performed frequently and using a bag or container to limit the risk of infections and diseases. Although various pooper-scooper devices are known that are intended to facilitate the picking up of dog droppings. these are of varying and limited effectiveness and still require manual participation each time the device is used.

As a further example. horses can ingest worm eggs (such as the eggs of redworms, roundworms, pinworms, threadworms and tapeworms) or fly larvae (such as the larvae of horse bot flies) from contaminated grazing areas or licking of the body. A typical worm control programme involves regular oral administration of a wormer and keeping the horse pasture clear of manure. An effective wormer administration regime involves use a variety of different active ingredients designed to target the different stages of the life cycle of each type of worm. The wormer dose is predominantly based on the body weight of the horse. However, it is also known to incorporate faecal egg counts into the worm management problem. This involves examining the horse dung for the presence of worm eggs, to help identify a worm problem and to help assess the effectiveness of a worming programme. A proNem exists however in that when there is more than one horse in a field, dung cannot be reliably matched to any particular each horse. Therefore, the faecal egg count from dung collected from that field is a general indicator for all the horses in the field and not an indicator for any individual horse.

Another aspect of horse pasture management is the removal of potentially dangerous items, such as weeds that are poisonous to horses, in particular ragwort. and objects that may cause physical damage to the horse. Therefore, it is usual for a person surveying a paddock during manure collection to be looking to identify and remove undesirable plants or foreign objects in addition to checking other aspects. such as the integrity of the paddock fencing. However, some things may be missed, especially in poor weather or low light conditions, and even more so if the person is tired or pressed for time. A further consideration is therefore the amount of ground that the person must cover frequently to maintain the field in sufficiently clean and tidy order. Although various paddock cleaning devices are known that are intended to facilitate the picking up of horse manure, these are of limited functionality and also require manual participation each time the device is used.

It is therefore desirable to provide an animal excrement collector that can facilitate the collection of animal excrement in a convenient, reliable and hygiene manner.

It is further desirable for the animal excrement collector to offer other advantageous functionality to assist an animal owner or guardian in looking after the animal and also in maintaining a safe and healthy environment for the animal and the general population.

Summaw of the Invention According to a first aspect there is provided animal excrement collection apparatus, comprising: a robotic animal excrement collector, comprising: a body, a propulsion system for driving the body along a ground surface, a navigation system for self-guiding the body within an environment in which animal excrement is to be collected, a detection system for identifying animal excrement, a loading arrangement for picking up animal excrement, an unloading arrangement for dropping off picked up animal excrement, and a control system for controlling operations of the robotic animal excrement collector.

In an embodiment, the robotic animal excrement collector comprises an obstacle avoidance system.

In an embodiment, the body of the robotic animal excrement collector comprises a storage chamber for storing collected animal excrement.

In an embodiment, the robotic animal excrement collector is configured to load animal excrement into animal excrement packaging.

In an embodiment, the robotic animal excrement collector further comprises a pre-treatment arrangement for pre-treating animal excrement prior to loading.

In an embodiment, the control system comprises a communication receiving device configured to receive signals from a remote device.

In an embodiment, the control system comprises a communication transmitting device configured to send signals to a remote device.

In an embodiment, the control system is configured to activate the robotic animal excrement collector into an active collection mode in response to at least one of: receipt of an activation signal from a remote device, identification of a predetermined actual time, identification of the expiry of a predetermined duration of time from a reference time.

In an embodiment, the control system is configured to log one or more of: duration in standby during a particular period, duration in active collection mode during a particular period, number of activations in a particular period, number of animal excrement collections in a particular period, the time that animal excrement is collected, the location from which animal excrement was collected, the time that collected animal excrement is deposited at a delivery area, the location at which collected animal excrement was deposited, the most likely animal from which animal excrement was collected.

In an embodiment, the robotic animal excrement collector further comprises an illumination arrangement for providing illumination during periods of low light.

In an embodiment, the animal excrement collection apparatus further comprises a base station for said robotic animal excrement collector.

In an embodiment, the animal excrement collection apparatus comprises at least one storage receptacle for collected animal excrement.

The animal excrement collection apparatus may be used for collecting at least one of: canine excrement, equine excrement.

In an embodiment, the animal excrement collection apparatus comprises at least one animal wearable sensor device wearable on an animal and configured to detect movement of the animal indicating that the animal is preparing to defecate and to send an activation signal to said robotic animal excrement collector in response. The animal excrement collection apparatus may comprise a plurality of animal wearable sensor devices, each of which is wearable on an individual animal and is configured to generate an activation signal containing delivery area identification data that identifies one of a plurality of delivery areas.

According to a second aspect there is provided an animal excrement collection system comprising an autonomous robotic animal excrement collector programmed to: a) navigate within an area to be cleared of animal excrement, b) pick up animal excrement from a first location, and c) deliver collected animal excrement to a second location.

Different aspects and embodiments of the invention may be used separately or together.

Further particular and preferred aspects of the present invention are set out in the accompanying independent and dependent claims. Features of the dependent claims may be combined with the features of the independent claims as appropriate, and in combination other than those explicitly set out in the claims.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The present invention will now be more particularly described, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figures 1 to 3 illustrate features of animal excrement collection apparatus comprising a robotic animal excrement collector, according to a first embodiment; Figures 4 & 5 illustrate features of animal excrement collection apparatus comprising a robotic animal excrement collector, according to a second embodiment; Figure 6 illustrates a robotic animal excrement collector comprising a pre-treatment device; and Figure 7 illustrates features of an animal excrement collection system.

Description

Example embodiments are described below in sufficient detail to enaNe those of ordinary skill in the art to embody and implement the systems and processes herein described. It is important to understand that embodiments can be provided in many alternate forms and shodld not be construed as limited to the examples set forth herein.

Accordingly, while embodiments can be modified in various ways and take on various alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown in the drawings and described in detail below as examples. There is no intent to limit to the particular forms disclosed. On the contrary, all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the appended claims should be included.

Elements of the example embodiments are consistently denoted by the same reference numerals throughout the drawings and detailed description where appropriate.

The present invention provides generally animal excrement collection apparatus, an animal excrement collection system and a method of animal excrement collection.

Animal excrement collection apparatus for use in collecting manure will now be described with reference to Figures 1 to 3. The manure may be from a horse, pony, donkey, alpaca or other animal.

A robotic animal excrement collector 101 and base station 102 are shown in Figure 1. In this illustrated scenario, the robotic animal excrement collector 101 is suitable for collecting manure 103 from horse 104. As will be described in further detail, the robotic animal excrement collector 101 comprises a body, a propulsion system for driving the body along a ground surface, a navigation system for self-guiding the body within an environment in which animal excrement is to be collected, a detection system for identifying animal excrement, a loading arrangement for picking up animal excrement, an unloading arrangement for dropping off picked up animal excrement, and a control system for controlling operations of the robotic animal excrement collector.

In Figure 2, the robotic animal excrement collector 101 and base station 102 are shown arranged next to a stable 201 beside a paddock 202 having a muck heap area 203. Horse 104 is shown grazing within the paddock 202. Different stages of collection of manure 103 by the robotic animal excrement collector 101 are illustrated.

In the scenarios illustrated in Figure 2 and in Figure 3, position A indicates the robotic animal excrement collector 101 at the base station 102, position B indicates the robotic animal excrement collector 101 at the location of animal excrement to be collected (manure 103) and position C indicates the robotic animal excrement collector 101 at the location of an animal excrement delivery area (muck heap 203). The dashed arrow D indicates the robotic animal excrement collector 101 leaving the base station 102 and navigating within the paddock 202 to locate manure 103 to be collected, the dashed arrow E indicates the robotic animal excrement collector 101 transporting the collected manure 103 to the muck heap 203, and the dashed arrow F indicates the robotic animal excrement collector 101 returning back to the base station 102 after having deposited the collected manure 103 at the muck heap.

The control system of the robotic animal excrement collector 101 comprises a data processor, with access to data storage. As will also be described in further detail, the robotic animal excrement collector 101 is programmed with a plurality of different operational modes, including a standby mode and at least one active mode.

The propulsion system, navigation system, detection system, loading and unloading arrangements and control system may each be updatable to alter and/or improve the performance of the robotic animal excrement collector 101 and/or add functionality to the robotic animal excrement collector.

In a standby mode, the robotic animal excrement collector 101 waits at the base station 102 to be triggered into an active mode. In an active collection mode, the robotic animal excrement collector 101 navigates to animal excrement to be collected, picks up animal excrement from a first location, and delivers the collected animal excrement to a second location.

Steps of an active collection routine include the robotic animal excrement collector 101 self-navigating within an area in which animal excrement is expected to be encountered, identifying animal excrement, picking up identified animal excrement and depositing collected animal excrement at an animal excrement delivery area. The delivery area may be at the base station 102, or may be at a location that is away from the base station 102. The robotic animal excrement collector 101 may be programmed to deliver collected animal excrement to a delivery area immediately after each pick up, or may be programmed to continue seeking animal excrement to be collected before delivering multiple pickups of animal excrement to a delivery area.

The control system of the robotic animal excrement collector 101 may be configured to activate the robotic animal excrement collector into an active mode in one or more ways. In an embodiment, the control system of the robotic animal excrement collector 101 comprises a clock. The robotic animal excrement collector 101 may then be triggered into an active mode in response to the identification of a predetermined actual time, for example a pre-scheduled time. In an embodiment, the control system of the robotic animal excrement collector 101 comprises a timer. The robotic animal excrement collector 101 may then be triggered into an active mode in response to the identification of the expiry of a predetermined duration of time from a reference time, for example from previously entering into a standby mode. In an embodiment, the control system of the robotic animal excrement collector 101 comprises a communication receiving device configured to receive signals from a remote device. The robotic animal excrement collector 101 may then be triggered into an active mode in response to receipt of an activation signal from a remote device. The remote device may be a sensor device, and an example of this will be described with reference to Figure 3. Alternatively, the remote device may be a telecommunications device, such as a mobile telephone, or a device such as a desk top, laptop or tablet computer connected to a global communications network such as the internet. For example, the robotic animal excrement collector 101 may be triggered into an active mode on demand by a user.

In an embodiment, the control system of the robotic animal excrement collector 101 comprises a communication transmitting device configured to transmit signals to a remote device. The remote device may be a mobile telecommunications device, and an example of this will be described with reference to Figure 3.

It is to be appreciated generally that the robotic animal excrement collector 101 may transmit signals to a remote device, or receive signals from a remote device, via one or more relay transmitter devices.

In this illustrated example, both the robotic animal excrement collector 101 and the base station 102 are provided with an antenna 204, 205 respectively. It is to be appreciated that the robotic animal excrement collector 101 and the base station 102 can be configured to allow one-way communication from one to the other or two-way communication with each other. Similarly, one or both of the robotic animal excrement collector 101 and the base station 102 can be configured to allow one-way or two-way communication with a remote device. It is further to be appreciated that a signal sent to the robotic animal excrement collector 101 may be sent to the base station 102 from which the signal is relayed to the robotic animal excrement collector 101.

In this embodiment, the base station 102 comprises a shelter for the robotic animal excrement collector 101. Preferably, the shelter comprises a waterproof housing within which the robotic animal excrement collector 101 is fully receivable. The shelter may have any suitable construction. In an alternative embodiment, the base station comprises a parking bay arrangement.

The body of the robotic animal excrement collector 101 may have any suitable construction and be fabricated from any material or combination of materials.

Preferably the body of the robotic animal excrement collector is waterproof, and a suitable size, weight and shape for the types of terrain that the robotic animal excrement collector may be used on. The body of the robotic animal excrement collector may have any desired appearance.

The propulsion system of the robotic animal excrement collector 101 may take any suitahie form. In an embodiment, the propulsion system of the robotic animal excrement collector 101 comprises an electrically-powered motor.

Preferably, the propulsion system comprises a rechargeable battery. for providing an on-board source of electrical power. Preferably, the base station 102 comprises electrical power supply apparatus for use in charging the rechargeable battery of the robotic animal excrement collector 101. In an embodiment, the base station 102 is connected to a mains power supply, as illustrated at 206. In a preferred embodiment, the electrical power supply apparatus comprises inductive charging apparatus, which provides a convenient way of charging the robotic animal excrement collector 101 as this overcomes any requirement for any permanent or temporary wired connection to between the robotic animal excrement collector and the base station 102.

The propulsion system of the robotic animal excrement collector 101 may comprise any suitable ground-contacting locomotion means, such as wheels, continuous tracks, rollers or legs, for enabling the robotic animal excrement collector 101 to move along the ground. It is to be appreciated that the number, type and arrangement of ground-contacting locomotion elements may vary between applications and the types of terrain that the robotic animal excrement collector is to be used on. As can be seen in Figures 1-3, the robotic animal excrement collector 101 is provided with a set of wheels.

It is to be appreciated that the robotic animal excrement collector 101 is preferably usable on one or more different ground surface materials, for example: grass, tarmacadam, concrete, asphalt, paving, tiling, decking, gravel, cobbles, stones, slate, mulch, rubber chippings.

Preferably, the propulsion system is arranged to minimise any undesired attention from, or disturbance of, an animal in the presence of which the propulsion system is operational in an active collection mode.

The navigation system of the robotic animal excrement collector 101 comprises any suitable tracking means, guiding means, and/or horning means. The navigation system may comprise one or more of: a computer vision system, a global positioning (GPS) sensor, an accelerometer, a compass, an infrared (IR), an ultra-sonic sensor, a UDAR sensor. The navigation system may be configured to direct the robotic animal excrement collector 101 to self-guide a course between boundaries. This may be a more pre-determined course, for example to and fro from one end of an area to the other end of the area, or a more random course as may be achieved with a bump-and-turn' routine. Alternatively or additionally, the navigation system may be configured to direct the robotic animal excrement collector to navigate to an actual or relative position. The navigation system of the robotic animal excrement collector 101 comprises a return-to-base' feature for returning the robotic animal excrement collector 101 to the base station 102.

This may use a global positioning (GPS) system, a vision guidance system and/or an IR beacon system.

The detection system of the robotic animal excrement collector 101 may comprise any suitable identification means. The detection system may comprise at least one or more of: an image sensor, an image data processor, a computer vision system, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, a gas sensor, a light sensor, a colour sensor, a touch sensor, a sound sensor, infrared (IR), an ultra-sonic sensor, a LiDAR sensor. In an embodiment, the robotic animal excrement collector has a learning mode, which can be used to train the detection system to recognise particular items, such as particular types of excrement and excrement at different stages of decomposition. In addition, the detection system of the robotic animal excrement collector can be programmed to identify other features that may be encountered that the animal arid/or land owner would wish to be aware of, such as broken fences, gaps in fences, hedges or other perimeter defining elements, weeds, and foreign objections. For example, the weed ragwort is poisonous to both horses and humans. When eaten by horses, it causes irreversible damage that can lead to liver failure. It is known that ragwort is poisonous throughout its life and even when dead. Therefore, to avoid ingestion by a horse, ragwort plants in the areas accessible by a horse must be completely removed as soon as possible. In an embodiment, the robotic animal excrement collector 101 can beneficially detect the presence of ragwort 207 and generate a signal to notify an animal and/or land owner, providing an early warning of the toxic hazard. The warning signal recipient may receive a notification in the form of a message sent to a mobile telephone, or via a smartphone app or online account, for example. In a similar manner, the robotic animal excrement collector 101 can beneficially detect a compromised region of a boundary 208 and generate a signal to notify an animal and/or land owner of this. In an embodiment, the robotic animal excrement collector 101 has an active scanning mode in which robotic animal excrement collector 101 scans the environment using an identification algorithm for instances of any pre-programmed features or aspects to report to a user. It is to be understood that the robotic animal excrement collector 101 may be programmed with an active mode detected to searching and identifying features that a user has elected to be notified of and/or the robotic animal excrement collector 101 may be programmed to identify features that a user has elected to be notified of during an animal excrement collection mode.

Preferably, the robotic animal excrement collector 101 comprises an obstacle avoidance system. The obstacle avoidance system may comprise one or more of: a laser, a sonar device, infrared (IR), an ultra-sonic sensor, a LiDAR sensor. This is advantageous when the robotic animal excrement collector 101 is being used in the presence of animals, such as horse 104, and/or people. In addition, this reduces the risk of impact of the robotic animal excrement collector 101 with foreign objects 209 or permanent or temporary buildings or structures that may cause damage to and/or impede progress of the robotic animal excrement collector 101. The obstacle avoidance system functions to prevent contact between the robotic animal excrement collector 101 and any stationary or moving person, animal or object.

The loading arrangement of the robotic animal excrement collector 101 may comprise any suitable animal excrement loading means. The loading arrangement system may comprise one or more of: a scoop, a grab, a spike, a sweeping arrangement, an airflow generator, a vacuum generator. It is to be appreciated that the animal excrement loading means may vary between applications, for example. depending on such factors as the type of animal excrement to be collected, and the average volume of a heap of that particular type of animal excrement to be collected. In an embodiment, a sweeping arrangement is used for collecting horse manure. The sweeping arrangement may comprise one or more movable sweeping elements. In an example. the sweeping arrangement effects an action that resembles the operation of a known dustpan and brush apparatus.

In this illustrated embodiment, the body of the robotic animal excrement collector 101 comprises a storage chamber 210. It is to be appreciated that the shape and volume of the storage chamber 210 may vary between applications, depending on such factors as the type of animal excrement to be collected, and the average volume of a heap of that particular type of animal excrement to be collected, the size of the area to be cleared and the number of collections that may be made in a particular period, and the number of collections that may be made between visits to an animal excrement delivery area. It is further to be appreciated that the relative location of the storage chamber to other components of the robotic animal excrement collector 101 may vary between applications, for example it may be at the rear of the vehicle, as in the illustrated embodiment of Figures 1 to 3. or located more centrally of the body, as in the illustrated embodiment of Figures 4 & 5.

The unloading arrangement of the robotic animal excrement collector 101 may comprise any suitable animal excrement unloading means. In an embodiment, the same arrangement provides both the loading function and the unloading function. For example, a sweeping arrangement may be used to load and unload animal excrement. The unloading arrangement may make use of gravity. In an example. the unloading arrangement comprises one or more flaps or doors that open an aperture through which collected animal excrement can fall. This type of unloading arrangement may comprise a sweeping element to help push the collected animal excrement through the aperture. In an example, the unloading arrangement comprises a floor that is inclinable to facilitate depositing of the collected animal excrement. This type of unloading arrangement may resemble the tilting bed of a tipper truck.

The animal excrement collection apparatus may comprise at least one animal wearable sensor device wearable on an animal and configured to detect movement of the animal indicating that the animal is preparing to defecate and to send an activation signal to said robotic animal excrement collector in response.

In an embodiment, the animal wearable sensor device is configured to be worn on the dock of the tail of the animal and is configured to detect motion of the tail by the animal in a manner indicating that the animal is preparing to defecate. The animal wearable sensor device is of a suitable size, shape and weight to avoid restricting or influencing the movement of the animal and to minimise any interference to comfort experienced by the animal.

Various features of tail motion may be sensed and utilised in the determination that the animal is preparing to defecate, including extent of tail lift, angle of tail lift, speed of tail movement, duration of tail movement, duration of no change in tail position. Data reflecting instants in time or one or more periods of time may be used to determine a behavioural pattern and/or signature for a particular type of animal or an individual animal, which may be adapted over time to improve the accuracy of behaviour detection for the purpose of the collection of animal waste and/or detection of usual or unusual behaviour.

In the scenario illustrated in Figure 3, a first animal wearable sensor device 301 is mounted on the tail of horse 104 and a second animal wearable sensor device 302 is mounted on the tail of a second horse 302. It has been found that a horse will lift their tail prior to defecating in a manner that is distinguishable, for example, from tail swishing. The animal wearable sensor device 301, 302 may comprise any suitable mounting means for use in mounting the animal wearable sensor device 301, 302 to an animal. The mounting means may comprise housing apertures, straps or clips, for example. The animal wearable sensor device 301, 302 may comprise any suitable sensor or sensors. In an embodiment, the sensing means comprises an accelerometer. The animal wearable sensor device 301, 302 may comprise any suitable communication means, for example a one-way transmitter or two-way communicator.

The activation signal from the animal wearable sensor device may contain one or more of: geographical co-ordinate data, sensor identification data, animal identification data, delivery area identification data, time data, date data.

In this illustrated embodiment, the animal wearable sensor device 301, 302 comprises an accelerometer and a global positioning (GPS) sensor. Upon detection of the distinctive tail action of the horse, the animal wearable sensor device 301, 302 worn by that horse generates an activation signal for activating the robotic animal excrement collector 101 to locate manure produced by that horse. The activation signal contains geographical co-ordinate data, and the robotic animal excrement collector 101 self-navigates to the corresponding location. As can be understood, the horse may have moved from the location at which the animal wearable sensor device 301, 302 transmitted the activation signal after the activation signal was sent. If the robotic animal excrement collector 101 does not detect manure at that location, the robotic animal excrement collector 101 enters a localised hunting mode and travels around the initial location to detect where the manure has been dropped.

In ai-i embodiment, the animal excrement collection apparatus comprises a plurality of animal wearable sensor devices, each of which is wearable on an individual animal and is configured to generate an activation signal containing delivery area identification data that identifies one of a plurality of delivery areas.

In an application, a plurality of delivery areas are provided to which the robotic animal excrement collector 101 may delivery collected animal excrement. The animal wearable sensor device activation signal may specify one of the plurality of delivery areas.

In an embodiment, the animal wearable sensor device is configured to generate an activation signal containing delivery area identification data that identifies a delivery area that is uniquely associated with that animal wearable sensor device.

In this illustrated embodiment, the animal wearable sensor device 301 worn by horse 104 identifies delivery area 304 and the animal wearable sensor device 302 worn by horse 303 identifies delivery area 305. This feature is advantageous in assisting matching of a heap of manure to the horse that produced the manure, which is beneficial for faecal egg counting. In circumstances in which more than one horse is present within a field, or more than one horse uses a particular field, more individual faecal egg count results can be obtained, as opposed to a general

analysis for horses using that field.

Another feature associated with the animal wearable sensor device 301, 302 is the potential to identify when a horse 104, 303 wearing the animal wearable sensor device 301, 302 has not moved for an elongated period of time, which may indicate that the horse is stuck, ill or has died. In an embodiment, the animal wearable sensor device is configured to generate a regular status signal containing geographical co-ordinate data, from which the control system of the robotic animal excrement collector 101 can determine that the animal wearing the animal wearable sensor device has not moved, or has not moved significantly, over a particular period. The robotic animal excrement collector 101 may then be activated to investigate, or a warning message can be sent to a user. For this feature, the animal is not limited to a horse and could, for example, be a dog.

Alternatively, the animal wearable sensor device could send a signal indicating a lack of travel of the animal wearable sensor device, indicating either a problem with the animal, the global positioning (GPS) sensor or other problem affecting the operation of the animal wearable sensor device, or that the animal wearable sensor device has become separated from the animal. The global positioning (GPS) sensor of an animal wearable device can also be used to provide information about the areas of a paddock, field, garden or lawn that the animal has visited throughout a particular period of time.

In an alternative arrangement, the feature of delivery area specification in the activation signal can facilitate management of the delivery areas, for example by specifying that a particular delivery area be used on particular days or at particular times of the day.

In an embodiment, an animal wearable sensor device is provided that comprises a tail-wearable element and a body-wearable element. The tail-worn element comprises componentry for identifying tail motion and providing a signal to the body-worn element, and the body-worn element comprises componentry for communicating with the base station and/or a remote user device. In an embodiment, the body-worn element also comprises a global positioning (GPS) sensor. Preferably, the tail-wearable element communicates with the body-wearable element via a wireless technology communication protocol, such as Bluetooth, with low-power, small size and lightweight characteristics. Preferably, the body-wearable element also communicates with the base station and/or a remote user device via a wireless technology communication protocol. It is to be appreciated that the body-worn element may be worn on the body using any suitable means, and may, for example, be mounted on a blanket, a girth strap or head collar.

This dual element approach, which splits the electronic into different housings for wearing on different parts of the body of the animal. advantageously reduces the weight mounted onto the tail of the animal.

Animal excrement collection apparatus for use in collecting dog muck will now be described with reference to Figures 4 & 5.

A robotic animal excrement collector 401 arid base station 402 are shown in Figure 4. In this illustrated scenario, the robotic animal excrement collector 401 is suitable for collecting muck 402 from dog 403. The robotic animal excrement collector 401 is similar to robotic animal excrement collector 101 in that is also comprises a body, a propulsion system for driving the body along a ground surface, a navigation system for self-guiding the body within an environment in which animal excrement is to be collected, a detection system for identifying animal excrement, a loading arrangement for picking up animal excrement, an unloading arrangement for dropping off picked up animal excrement, arid a control system for controlling operalions of the robotic animal excrement collector, but with some differences as will be described. Similarly, base station 402 is similar to base station 102, but with some differences as will be described.

In Figure 4, the robotic animal excrement collector 401 and base station 402 are shown arranged next to a house 404 with a garden 405, in which the dog 403 is shown. In this embodiment, the robotic animal excrement collector 401 has an active collection mode, under which it travels around the area of garden, traversing the length and width of the garden, seeking dog droppings to clear from the lawn. The robotic animal excrement collector 401 can be activated into the active collection mode in accordance with a predetermined schedule, which will typically be set by the user around the times that the dog will be in the garden through the day or week.

Additionally or alternatively, the robotic animal excrement collector 401 may be activated from a standby mode in response to detection by one or more sensors of the robotic animal excrement collector 401 that the dog has entered into the garden, arid therefore may leave droppings for collection.

In an embodiment, the robotic animal excrement collector 401 is programmed to detect that the dog has entered into the garden, and then to detect that the dog has subsequently vacated the garden. In response to detection of the dog having been in the garden, the robotic animal excrement collector 401 is activated into a seek mode, to find any droppings left behind by the dog that are to be collected.

This feature is beneficial for limiting searching activity by the robotic animal excrement collector 401 to periods when the robotic animal excrement collector 401 is mostly likely to find droppings to be collected.

In an embodiment, the robotic animal excrement collector 401 is programmed to detect that the dog has entered into the garden, and then to detect that the dog is adopting a particular posture that indicates that the dog 403 is about to defecate.

An object recognition mode of the detection system of the robotic animal excrement collector 401 may be used for this purpose. In response to detection of the dog adopting a pose indicating that droppings are about to be produced, the robotic animal excrement collector 401 is activated into a seek mode, to find the anticipated droppings that the dog has produced. This feature is beneficial for further limiting searching activity by the robotic animal excrement collector 401 to shorter periods when the robotic animal excrement collector 401 is mostly likely to find droppings to be collected.

Features of the robotic animal excrement collector 401 and base station 402 are illustrated in Figure 5.

In this embodiment, the robotic animal excrement collector 401 is configured to load animal excrement into animal excrement packaging 501. The animal excrement packaging 501 may take any suitable form, for example a disposable bag or a disposable carton. Use of the animal excrement packaging 501 serves to contain the collected animal excrement and improve cleanliness of the robotic animal excrement collector 401 and hygienic handling. It is to be appreciated that more than one lot of animal excrement may be loaded into the same item of animal excrement packaging 501. In an embodiment, the animal excrement packaging 501 is opaque to conceal the collected animal excrement from view, for the benefit of a person handling the used animal excrement packaging 501.

In an embodiment, the robot animal excrement collector 401 comprises a sealing system and the animal excrement packaging 501 is sealed by the sealing system of the robot animal excrement collector 401 after collected animal excrement is received therein to contain foul odour, again for the benefit of a person handling the used animal excrement packaging 501. In an embodiment, the animal excrement packaging 501 is rigid to disguise the consistency of the collected animal excrement, also for the benefit of a person handling the used animal excrement packaging 501. In this illustrated embodiment, the base station 402 comprises an animal excrement packaging storage unit 502 for storing animal excrement packaging 501 for use by the robot animal excrement collector 401.

In an embodiment, at least one of the robot animal excrement collector 401 and the base station 402 comprises animal excrement packaging loading means for providing the robot animal excrement collector 401 with animal excrement packaging 501 ready to use. The animal excrement packaging loading means may take any suitable form. The animal excrement packaging may be fabricated from any suitable material or combination of materials. In an example, the animal excrement packaging is fabricated using one or more of: a plastics material, a metallic foil material, a cardboard material.

In this illustrated embodiment, the robot animal excrement collector 401 has a storage chamber 503 in the body in which animal excrement, preferably in animal excrement packaging 501 as described, is loaded.

In an embodiment, the animal excrement collection apparatus comprises at least one storage receptacle for collected animal excrement. The storage receptacle is located at or in an animal excrement delivery area.

In this illustrated embodiment, the base station 402 is provided with a storage receptacle 504. Preferably, and in this embodiment, the animal excrement collection apparatus comprises a storage receptacle indicator 505 to indicate one or more of: when a storage receptacle is empty, when a storage receptacle is full, when a storage receptacle has partial capacity. The storage receptacle indicator 505 may be on the storage receptacle, in the near vicinity of the storage receptacle or at a more distant location. In an example, the storage receptacle indicator 505 comprises one or more lights, or a light that changes colour. In an example. the storage receptacle indicator 505 is configured to generate a status indicator signal for a user device, smartphone app or web-enabled account.

In the arrangement shown in Figure 5. the base station 402 comprises a ramp 506 leading to a platform portion 507 having a delivery aperture 508 through which the robotic animal excrement collector 401 can deposit collected animal excrement. In this application, the storage receptacle 503 is located beneath the delivery aperture 508. The storage receptacle 503 may be removable from the base station 402 for emptying, or may be provided with a removable insert or liner (not shown).

In use, the robotic animal excrement collector 401 stays at the base station 402 when in standby mode. When triggered into an active collection mode, the robotic animal excrement collector 401 navigates autonomously within an area to be cleared of animal excrement, picks up any animal excrement encountered, returns to the base station 402 and deposits collected animal excrement into the storage receptacle 503.

This advantageously enables optical devices that are readily usable in the daytime or in normal light conditions to be used during the evening, night time or in overcast conditions or in areas of heaw shadow or darkness.

As shown in Figure 5. robotic animal excrement collector 401 comprises illumination arrangement 509 comprising ai-i illumination source for providing an optical device 510 of the navigation or detection system. The illumination arrangement 509 may comprise a light level sensor arranged to turn on the illumination source automatically in response to detection of light at a level below a light level threshold and then switch the illumination source off in response to detection of light at a level greater than the light level threshold.

The present invention provides an animal excrement collection system comprising an autonomous animal excrement collector programmed to a) navigate within an area to be cleared of animal excrement b) pick up animal excrement from a first location and c) deliver collected animal excrement to a second location.

A robotic animal excrement collector may comprise a pre-treatment system for pre-treating animal excrement prior to loading. The pre-treatment arrangement may be operative to perform one or more of: moisture content reduction, temperature reduction, size reduction. The pre-treatment arrangement beneficially serves to improve the consistency of the animal excrement for loading, typically increasing the firmness.

A robotic animal excrement collector 601 comprising a pre-treatment system 602 for pre-treating animal excrement prior to loading is shown in Figure 6. The pre-treatment device 603 is activated in response to the detection of animal waste that has a moisture level of a magnitude above a threshold indicating that reduction of the moisture level prior to collection of the animal waste would be desirable. In this embodiment, the illustrated, the pre-treatment system 602 comprises a pre-treatment device 603 that is movable between a storage position and a use position. In this example. the pre-treatment device 603 is connected to the main body 604 of the robotic animal excrement collector 601 by a movable arm 605. The movable arm 605 enables the pre-treatment device 603 to be moved between a raised, storage position, to avoid interference with the moving around of the robotic animal excrement collector 601 during search and collection, and a lowered, use position. In Figure 6, the pre-treatment device 603 is shown in the towered, use position over a pile of animal waste 606 tying on the ground 607. The pre-treatment device 603 of this illustrated example comprises a hood 609 that defines a plurality of ventilation apertures 610 therein. A processing unit 611 is located on the hood 609, and the hood 609 and processing unit 611 are in fluid communication, by means of a connecting aperture. The processing unit 611 houses a fan 612 and a heating element 613.

To perform a pre-treatment operation, the hood 609 of the pre-treatment device 603 is lowered over the animal waste 606, and the fan 612 and heating element 613 are operated to create a warm flow of air, as indicated by arrows A, through the processing unit 611, into the hood 609, over the animal waste 606, and out through the ventilation apertures 610. When the pre-treatment stage is complete, and the moisture level in the animal waste 606 reduced, operation of the processing unit 611 is stopped and the pre-treatment device 603 is returned to the raised, storage condition. The processing unit 611 may be programmed to operate for a pre-determined duration or until the moisture level is detected as being below a moisture level threshold, or according to an algorithm that combines several parameters. The pre-treatment device 603 is particular useful when the animal waste 606 to be collected is from a dog, as it is found that the dog muck is more susceptible to variations in moisture level than, for example, horse muck.

Features of an animal excrement collection system comprising aspects as described previously are illustrated in Figure 7. A user 701, such as an animal owner, animal guardian, land owner or and guardian, is shown with a user-operable wireless telecommunications device 702. The animal excrement collection system comprises a robotic animal excrement collector 703 and a base station 704. The animal excrement collection system may also comprise at least one animal wearable sensor device 705. Each of the wireless telecommunications device 702, robotic animal excrement collector 703, base station 704 and animal wearable sensor device 705 is configured to communicate with a least one other of the wireless telecommunications device 702, robotic animal excrement collector 703, base station 704 and animal wearable sensor device 705, either via a local, wide area or global communications broadcast or network system. The user 701 may control and/or monitor the animal excrement collection system via the user-operable wireless telecommunications device 702.

In an embodiment, the control system of the robotic animal excrement collector is configured to log at one or more of: duration in standby during a particular period, duration in active collection mode during a particular period, number of activations in a particular period, number of animal excrement collections in a particular period, the time that animal excrement is collected, the location from which animal excrement was collected, the time that collected animal excrement is deposited at a delivery area, the location at which collected animal excrement was deposited, the most likely animal from which animal excrement was collected. The logged data can be sent to a user device, directly or via a smartphorie app or online user account service, as individual or bundled data items, or can be saved for transferring to a data storage device, user device smartphone app or online user account service, on a regular basis or on demand.

The present invention therefore provides a robotic animal excrement collector, and also provides a base station for the robotic animal excrement collector. In addition, the present invention provides an animal wearable sensor device usable with the robotic animal excrement collector and base station. The present invention further provides an animal excrement collection system.

The present invention provides an animal excrement collection system in which a robotic animal excrement collector is used. Advantageous of the present invention include: capability for animal excrement collection when a person is not available to collect the animal excrement, possibility for more regular collections, capability for increased frequency of collection, more hygienic collection, more convenient collection, data collection that is useful for user and that can be used to more effectively manage animal health and environment quality.

It is to be appreciated that although the present invention is described herein for use with equine or canine excrement the present invention may be used with other types of animal excrement.

Although illustrative embodiments of the invention have been disclosed in detail herein, with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is understood that the invention is not limited to the precise embodiments shown and that various changes and modifications can be effected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

Claims 1. Animal excrement collection apparatus, comprising: a robotic animal excrement collector, comprising: a body, a propulsion system for driving the body along a ground surface, a navigation system for self-guiding the body within an environment in which animal excrement is to be collected, a detection system for identifying animal excrement, a loading arrangement for picking up animal excrement, an unloading arrangement for dropping off picked up animal excrement, and a control system for controlling operations of the robotic animal excrement collector.
2. Animal excrement collection apparatus, as claimed in claim 1, wherein said navigation system comprises at least one of: a computer vision system, a global positioning system (GPS) sensor, an accelerometer, a compass, an infrared (IR), an ultra-sonic sensor, a LiDAR sensor.
3. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein said detection system comprises at least one of: an image sensor, an image data processor, a computer vision system, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, a gas sensor, a light sensor, a colour sensor, a touch sensor, a sound sensor, an infrared (IR) sensor, an ultra-sonic sensor, a LiDAR sensor.
4. Animal excrement collection apparatus, as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3. wherein said robotic animal excrement collector comprises an obstacle avoidance system.
5. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1 to 4, wherein said obstacle avoidance system comprises at least one of: a laser, a sonar device, an infrared (IR) sensor, an ultra-sonic sensor, a LiDAR sensor.
6. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1 to 5, wherein said loading arrangement comprises at least one of: a scoop, a grab, a spike, a sweeping arrangement, an airflow generator, a vacuum generator.
7. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein said propulsion system comprises one of: wheels, continuous tracks.
8. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1 to 7, wherein said propulsion system comprises a rechargeable battery.
9. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1 to 8, wherein said navigation system is configured to self-guide the robotic animal excrement collector along a course between boundaries.
10. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1 to 9, wherein the body of the robotic animal excrement collector comprises a storage chamber for storing collected animal excrement
11. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1 to 10, wherein said robotic animal excrement collector is configured to load animal excrement into animal excrement packaging.
12. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein said animal excrement packaging is one of: a disposable bag, a disposable carton.
13. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1 to 12, wherein said robotic animal excrement collector further comprises a pre-treatment arrangement for pre-treating animal excrement prior to loading.
14. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein said pre-treatment arrangement is operative to perform at least one of: moisture content reduction, temperature reduction, size reduction.
15. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1 to 14, wherein said control system comprises a communication receiving device configured to receive signals from a remote device.
16. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in claim 15, wherein said remote device is a sensor device.
17. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1 to 16, wherein said control system comprises a communication transmitting device configured to send signals to a remote device.15. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in claim 17, wherein said remote device is a mobile telecommunications device.19. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1 to 18, wherein said control system is configured to activate the robotic animal excrement collector into an active collection mode in response to at least one of: receipt of an activation signal from a remote device, identification of a predetermined actual time, identification of the expiry of a predetermined duration of time from a reference time.20. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1 to 19, wherein said control system is configured to log one or more of: duration in standby during a particular period, duration in active collection mode during a particular period, number of activations in a particular period, number of animal excrement collections in a particular period, the time that animal excrement is collected, the location from which animal excrement was collected, the time that collected animal excrement is deposited at a delivery area, the location at which collected animal excrement was deposited, the most likely animal from which animal excrement was collected.21. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1 to 20, wherein said robotic animal excrement collector further comprises an illumination arrangement for providing illumination during periods of low light.22. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1 to 21, comprising a base station for said robotic animal excrement collector.23. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in claim 23, wherein said base station comprises a shelter for said robotic animal excrement collector.24. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in claim 23, wherein said shelter comprises a waterproof housing.25. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in any of claims 22 to 24, wherein said base station comprises electrical power supply apparatus for use in charging said robotic animal excrement collector.26. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in claim 25, wherein said electrical power supply apparatus comprises inductive charging apparatus.27. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in any of claims 22 to 26, wherein said base station comprises a ramp leading onto a platform portion having a delivery aperture through which said robotic animal excrement collector can deposit collected animal excrement.28. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in any of claims 22 to 27, wherein said base station comprises an animal excrement packaging storage unit for storing animal excrement packaging for use by said robotic animal excrement collector.29. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1 to 28, comprising at least one storage receptacle for collected animal excrement.30. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1 to 29, comprising a storage receptacle capacity indicator configured to indicate at least one of: when a storage receptacle is empty, when a storage receptacle has partial available capacity, when a storage receptacle is full.31. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in any of claims ito 30, for collecting at least one of: canine excrement, equine excrement.32. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1 to 31 further comprising at least one animal wearable sensor device wearable on an animal and configured to detect movement of the animal indicating that the animal is preparing to defecate and to send an activation signal to said robotic animal excrement collector in response.33. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in claim 32, wherein said animal wearable sensor device is configured to be worn on the tail of a horse and is configured to detect lifting of the tail by the horse in a manner indicating that the horse is preparing to defecate.34. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in claim 32 or claim 33, wherein said activation signal contains one or more of: geographical co-ordinate data, sensor identification data, animal identification data, delivery area identification data, time data, date data.35. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in any of claims 32 to 34, further comprising a plurality of animal wearable sensor devices, each of which is wearable on an individual animal and is configured to generate an activation signal containing delivery area identification data that identifies one of a plurality of delivery areas.36. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in claim 35, wherein each animal wearable sensor device is configured to generate an activation signal containing delivery area identification data that identifies a delivery area that is uniquely associated with that animal wearable sensor device.37. An animal excrement collection system comprising an autonomous robotic animal excrement collector programmed to: a) navigate within an area to be cleared of animal excrement, b) pick up animal excrement from a first location, and c) deliver collected animal excrement to a second location.38. An autonomous robotic animal excrement collector, substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.39. A base station for an autonomous robotic animal excrement collector, substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.40. An animal wearable sensor device for use with an autonomous robotic animal excrement collector, substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows: Claims 1. Animal excrement collection apparatus, comprising: a robotic animal excrement collector, comprising: a body, a propulsion system for driving the body along a ground surface, a navigation system for self-guiding the body within an environment in which animal excrement is to be collected, a detection system for identifying animal excrement, a loading arrangement for picking up animal excrement, IC) an unloading arrangement for dropping off picked up animal excrement, O and r a control system for controlling operations of the robotic animal excrement a) collector; wherein said robotic animal excrement collector is configured to load animal excrement into animal excrement packaging.2. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, for collecting at least one of: canine excrement, equine excrement.3. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein said animal excrement packaging is one of: a disposable bag, a disposable carton.4. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said animal excrement packaging is fabricated using one or more of: a plastics material, a metallic foil material, a cardboard material.5. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said animal excrement packaging is opaque.6. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said robotic animal excrement collector further comprises a sealing LI') system for sealing the animal excrement packaging after collected animal C excrement is received therein. r a)(%J 7. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said robotic animal excrement collector further comprises a pre-treatment arrangement for pre-treating animal excrement prior to loading.8. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein said pre-treatment arrangement is operative to perform at least one of: moisture content reduction, temperature reduction, size reduction.9. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said loading arrangement comprises at least one of: a scoop, a grab, a spike, a sweeping arrangement, an airflow generator, a vacuum generator.10. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the body of the robotic animal excrement collector comprises a storage chamber for storing collected animal excrement 11. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, comprising a base station for said robotic animal excrement collector.12. Animal excrement coBection apparatus as claimed in claim 11, C wherein said base station comprises an animal excrement packaging storage unit for storing animal excrement packaging for use by said robot animal excrement CJ collector.13. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in claim 11 or claim 12, wherein said base station comprises a shelter for said robotic animal excrement collector.14. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein said shelter comprises a waterproof housing.15. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in any of claims 11 to 14, wherein said base station comprises electrical power supply apparatus for use in charging said robotic animal excrement collector.16. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in claim 15, wherein said electrical power supply apparatus comprises inductive charging apparatus.17. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in any of claims 11 to 16, wherein said base station comprises a ramp leading onto a platform IC) portion having a delivery aperture through which said robotic animal excrement C collector can deposit collected animal excrement. r a)(%J
18. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, comprising at least one storage receptacle for collected animal excrement.
19. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in claim 18, comprising a storage receptacle capacity indicator configured to indicate at least one of: when a storage receptacle is empty, when a storage receptacle has partial available capacity, when a storage receptacle is full.
20. Animal excrement collection apparatus, as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said navigation system comprises at least one of: a computer vision system, a global positioning system (GPS) sensor, an accelerometer, a compass, an infrared (IR). an ultra-sonic sensor, a LiDAR sensor.
21. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said detection system comprises at least one of: an image sensor, an image data processor, a computer vision system, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, a gas sensor, a light sensor, a colour sensor, a touch sensor, a sound sensor, an infrared (IR) sensor, an ultra-sonic sensor, a LiDAR sensor.
22. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said robotic animal excrement collector is configured to identify a C pre-programmed feature using said detection system and to generate a r notification signal in response. a) (4is
23. Animal excrement collection apparatus, as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said robotic animal excrement collector comprises an obstacle avoidance system.
24. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in claim 23, wherein said obstacle avoidance system comprises at least one of: a laser, a sonar device, an infrared (IR) sensor, an ultra-sonic sensor, a LiDAR sensor.
25. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said propulsion system comprises one of: wheels, continuous tracks.
26. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said propulsion system comprises a rechargeable battery.
27. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said navigation system is configured to self-guide the robotic animal excrement collector along a course between boundaries. IC)0
28. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in any preceding r claim, wherein said control system comprises a communication receiving device a) (%J configured to receive signals from a remote device.
29. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in claim 28, wherein said remote device is a sensor device.
30. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said control system comprises a communication transmitting device configured to send signals to a remote device.
31. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in claim 30, wherein said remote device is a mobile telecommunications device.
32. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said control system is configured to activate the robotic animal excrement collector into an active collection mode in response to at least one of: receipt of an activation signal from a remote device, identification of a predetermined actual time, identification of the expiry of a predetermined duration of time from a reference time.IC')
33. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in any preceding C claim, wherein said control system is configured to log one or more of: duration r in standby during a particular period, duration in active collection mode during a (%J particular period, number of activations in a particular period, number of animal excrement collections in a particular period, the time that animal excrement is collected, the location from which animal excrement was collected, the time that collected animal excrement is deposited at a delivery area, the location at which collected animal excrement was deposited, the most likely animal from which animal excrement was collected.
34. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said robotic animal excrement collector further comprises an illumination arrangement for providing illumination during periods of low light.
35. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, further comprising at least one animal wearable sensor device wearable on an animal and configured to detect movement of the animal indicating that the animal is preparing to defecate and to send an activation signal to said robotic animal excrement collector in response.
36. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in claim 35, wherein said activation signal contains one or more of: geographical co-ordinate data, sensor identification data, animal identification data, delivery area identification data, time data, date data. r37. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in claim 35 or a) (%J claim 36, further comprising a plurality of animal wearable sensor devices, each is of which is wearable on an individual animal and is configured to generate an activation signal containing delivery area identification data that identifies one of a plurality of delivery areas.38. Animal excrement collection apparatus as claimed in claim 37, wherein each animal wearable sensor device is configured to generate an activation signal containing delivery area identification data that identifies a delivery area that is uniquely associated with that animal wearable sensor device.39. An animal excrement collection system comprising an autonomous robotic animal excrement collector programmed to: a) navigate within an area to be cleared of animal excrement, b) pick up animal excrement from a first location, c) load picked-up animal excrement into animal excrement packaging, and d) deliver collected animal excrement to a second location.40. An animal excrement collection system, substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.IC') 41. A method of animal excrement collection system, substantially as C described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings. r a)(%J 42. An autonomous robotic animal excrement collector, substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.