Abstract
The continued growth in life sciences is being accompanied by the constantly rising demand for robotic systems. Today, bioscreening and high–throughput screening processes are well automated. In contrast, a deficit can be found in the area of analytical measurements with complex and frequently changing processes. Robots undertake not only transportation tasks, but also direct sample manipulation and subsequent analytical measurements. Due to their human-like structure, dual-arm robots perform such processes similar to human operation. Liquid handling is required to transfer chemicals, to prepare standard solutions, or to dilute samples. Two electronic pipettes with different volume ranges (5–200 µL and 50–1000 µL) were integrated into a dual–arm robotic system. The main focus in this publication is the software interface for alternating robot and pipette control as well as the high–level process control system. The performance using a dual–arm robot equipped with electronic pipettes and conventional manual pipettes was determined and compared. The automation system presented is the first integration of a dual-arm robot in analytical measurement processes. Conventional manual laboratory pipettes and electronic pipettes are simultaneously used for liquid-handling tasks. The software control system enables a flexible and user-friendly process generation.
Highlights
Bioscreening and high–throughput screening processes are well automated, using conventional transport devices, such as turntables, conveyors, or single–arm articulated robots, for labware transportation and positioning
The dual–arm robot, CSDA10F (Yaskawa, Kitakyūshū, Japan), is fix mounted in the automation system and surrounded by a workbench, multi–level storage racks, and two analytical measurement instruments
Conventional manual pipettes mounted in front of the robot; (5) cable guide for electronic pipettes; (6) conventional manual pipettes mounted behind the robot; (7)
Summary
Bioscreening and high–throughput screening processes are well automated, using conventional transport devices, such as turntables, conveyors, or single–arm articulated robots, for labware transportation and positioning. A wide variety of typical tasks exist in sample preparation processes for analytical measurements, including transportation of sample containers, vessels, vials, and microplates, and opening and closing vessels as well as active sample manipulation, such as pipetting, shaking, cooling/heating, ultrasonic and centrifuge treatment, incubation, measurements, and many more. A dual–arm robot was integrated into an automation system for sample preparation and analytical measurements. Due to the human–like structure, dual–arm robots are predestinated to perform processes in sample preparation and measurements similar to manual operation. To integrate such robots, a flexible and user–friendly control is required. This includes the hardware integration, the implementation of the control software, and the integration into a high–level process control system as well as the system and process optimization
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