Apparatus for collecting, transporting and discharging bales

An apparatus for collecting and transporting bales scattered on a field, the apparatus being driven in a displacement direction and having a longitudinal axis and a lateral axis, the apparatus comprising:

• a supporting chassis;
• a bale loading platform configured to receive and temporarily support the bales, the bale loading platform extending above the supporting chassis and being engageable with and securable to the supporting chassis and comprising at least one bale conveying section extending along the longitudinal axis between a forward end and a rearward end thereof, the bale conveying section including a bale conveying mechanism for moving the bales towards the rearward end of the bale loading platform;
• a grasping assembly operatively connected to one of the supporting chassis and the bale loading platform, the grasping assembly including a mechanical arm having a prehension end effector engageable with the bales, the mechanical arm having at least three degrees of freedom and being movable between a bale engagement configuration for engaging a corresponding one of the bales scattered on the field and a bale release configuration for releasing the corresponding one of the bales onto the bale loading platform, the grasping assembly further comprising a movement absorption mechanism including at least one section of the mechanical arm moveable along the longitudinal axis in a direction opposite to the displacement direction of the apparatus.