Grasping and Placing Operation for Labware Transportation in Life Science Laboratories using Mobile Robots

In recent years the degree of automation in life science laboratories increased considerably by introducing stationary and mobile robots. This trend requires intensified considerations of the occupational safety for cooperating humans, since the robots operate with low volatile compounds that partially emit hazardous vapors, which especially do arise if accidents or leakages occur. For the fast detection of such or similar situations a modular IoT-sensor node was developed. The sensor node consists of four hardware layers, which can be configured individually regarding basic functionality and measured parameters for varying application focuses. In this paper the sensor node is equipped with two gas sensors (BME688, SGP30) for a continuous TVOC measurement. In investigations under controlled laboratory conditions the general sensors’ behavior regarding different VOCs and varying installation conditions are performed. In practical investigations the sensor node’s integration into simple laboratory applications using stationary and mobile robots is shown and examined. The investigation results show that the selected sensors are suitable for the early detection of solvent vapors in life science laboratories. The sensor response and thus the system’s applicability depends on the used compounds, the distance between sensor node and vapor source as well as the speed of the automation systems.

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Integrating Mobile Robots into Automated Laboratory Processes: A Suitable Workflow Management System

SLAS TECHNOLOGY Translating Life Sciences Innovation ◽

10.1177/2472630320967620 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 247263032096762

Author(s):

Kerstin Thurow ◽

Xiangyu Gu ◽

Bernd Göde ◽

Thomas Roddelkopf ◽

Heidi Fleischer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mobile Robots ◽

Management System ◽

Life Science ◽

Life Sciences ◽

Workflow Management ◽

Development Trend ◽

Workflow Management System ◽

Laboratory Staff ◽

Science Laboratories ◽

Full Automation

The general trend of automation is currently increasing in life science laboratories. The samples to be examined show a high diversity in their structures and composition as well as the determination methods. Complex automation lines such as those used in classic industrial automation are not a suitable solution with respect to the required flexibility of the systems due to changing application requirements. Rather, full automation requires the connection of several different subsystems, including manual process steps by the laboratory staff. This requires suitable workflow management systems that enable the planning and execution of complex process steps. The integration of mobile robots for transportation tasks is currently an important development trend for realizing full automation in life science laboratories. The article “Workflow Management System for the Integration of Mobile Robots in Future Labs of Life Sciences” presents the development and application of a hierarchical workflow management system (HWMS) as a top-level process management and control system. This concept combines the typical hierarchical automation structure with novel approaches for the integration of transportation tasks with variable degrees of automation. The aim is to create a general-purpose workflow management system that can be used in different areas of the life sciences, regardless of the specific device components and applications used.

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ATLaS: Assistant Software for Life Scientists to Use in Calculations of Buffer Solutions

Tehnički glasnik ◽

10.31803/tg-20210326070107 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 15 (4) ◽

pp. 541-545

Author(s):

Ugur Comlekcioglu ◽

Nazan Comlekcioglu

Keyword(s):

Programming Language ◽

Life Science ◽

Source Code ◽

Experimental Results ◽

Acid Base ◽

Buffer Solutions ◽

Python Programming Language ◽

Science Laboratories ◽

Executable File ◽

Python Programming

Many solutions such as percentage, molar and buffer solutions are used in all experiments conducted in life science laboratories. Although the preparation of the solutions is not difficult, miscalculations that can be made during intensive laboratory work negatively affect the experimental results. In order for the experiments to work correctly, the solutions must be prepared completely correctly. In this project, a software, ATLaS (Assistant Toolkit for Laboratory Solutions), has been developed to eliminate solution errors arising from calculations. Python programming language was used in the development of ATLaS. Tkinter and Pandas libraries were used in the program. ATLaS contains five main modules (1) Percent Solutions, (2) Molar Solutions, (3) Acid-Base Solutions, (4) Buffer Solutions and (5) Unit Converter. Main modules have sub-functions within themselves. With PyInstaller, the software was converted into a stand-alone executable file. The source code of ATLaS is available at https://github.com/cugur1978/ATLaS.

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