Robotic Workstation Research Articles

A robotic system to prepare IV solutions

Drugs need to be used regularly and correctly in order to be effective. When medicines are used correctly, negativities that threaten human health and life can be avoided, but they can cause unwanted situations that can occur until the end of life when they are used incorrectly. The most common drug administration errors in hospitals are: The wrong dosage of the drug given to the patient, the timing and / or the method of administration, the wrong drug given to the patient, the drug given to the wrong patient, or even not given. Furthermore, the information about the drug that is administered to the patient may not be registered at all. In this research, a robotic drug preparation system and a communication server accepting prescription orders have been developed. Component engineering methodology is further utilized in the design of the Drug Preparation System to maximize reuse, increase product reliability, reduce design, code and test efforts. The IV Robotic Drug Preparation Robot is composed of a robotic work station and a Cartesian carrier to carry the work station to the desired location. The robotic work station has several grippers to handle syringes, to pull the piston of the syringe and to lock the closed system connector to the vial. The IV Robotic Drug Preparation System and communication server are developed and being used in the hospitals. Due to this system, medicines left unused in vials can be used and a great amount of savings is obtained from the drug purchases.

An improved multi-objective discrete bees algorithm for robotic disassembly line balancing problem in remanufacturing

Remanufacturing is an effective way to realize the reutilization of resources. Disassembly, as an essential step of remanufacturing, is usually finished by manual work which is low efficiency and high labor cost. Robotic disassembly provides an alternative way to reduce labor intensity and disassembly cost. Disassembly line is an efficient method to deal with end-of-life products on a large scale. Balancing the workload of robotic workstations is the main objective of robotic disassembly line balancing problem. In this paper, an improved multi-objective discrete bees algorithm is proposed to solve robotic disassembly line balancing problem. The feasible disassembly sequence is obtained by space interference matrix method. It is used to generate robotic disassembly line solution by robotic workstation assignment method. After that, the multi-objective robotic disassembly line balancing problem is proposed. With the help of efficient non-dominated Pareto sorting method, the improved multi-objective discrete bees algorithm is proposed to find Pareto optimal solutions. Based on a gear pump and a camera, the performance of the improved multi-objective discrete bees algorithm is analyzed under different parameters and compared with the other optimization algorithms. In addition, Pareto fronts of robotic disassembly line balancing problem are also compared with those of the other two cases. The result shows the proposed method can find better solutions using comparable running time compared with the other optimization algorithms.

Racionalization of Robotic Workstation in Welding Industry

Abstract The growing pressure to increase productivity and production quality is one of the reasons for the growing interest in using automated production facilities, such as robots. In many enterprises, automated lines are introduced that partially or completely replace the human factor. The automotive industry was one of the first to start using automated robots and still is the one of the largest users of these devices. Flexibility and affordability enabled robots to become part of the industry’s automation strategy. In order to achieve the desired goals, it is necessary to modernize and automate workplaces or to create completely new concepts of grouping of machines and industrial robots. An increasing trend in the use of robotic technology has caused several factors that have changed significantly in the recent years in favor of automated workplaces. The main changes made by industrial robots to the fore are improving their technical parameters, high reliability, affordability, reduced operating and maintenance costs.

Methodological Aspects of Modelling and Simulation of Robotized Workstations

From the point of view of development of application and program products, key directions that need to be respected in computer support for project activities are quite clearly specified. User interfaces with a high degree of graphical interactive convenience, two-dimensional and three-dimensional computer graphics contribute greatly to streamlining project methodologies and procedures in particular. This is mainly due to the fact that a high number of solved tasks is clearly graphic in the modern design of robotic systems. Automation of graphical character tasks is therefore a significant development direction for the subject area. The authors present results of their research in the area of automation and computer-aided design of robotized systems. A new methodical approach to modelling robotic workstations, consisting of ten steps incorporated into the four phases of the logistics process of creating and implementing a robotic workplace, is presented. The emphasis is placed on the modelling and simulation phase with verification of elaborated methodologies on specific projects or elements of the robotized welding plant in automotive production.

Sperm cell purification from mock forensic swabs using SOMAmer™ affinity reagents

We have demonstrated a proof of concept with affinity-based purification of sperm cells from mock forensic samples using SOMAmer™ reagents, DNA-based affinity reagents developed by SomaLogic, Inc. SOMAmer reagents were selected in vitro using whole-cell SELEX to bind specifically with intact, detergent-treated sperm cells. Successful separation of sperm from epithelial cells and their debris was demonstrated using buccal swabs with added semen. Primarily male DNA profiles were generated from sperm cells eluted from the types of cotton swabs typically used for rape kit evidence collection. The quality of sperm DNA isolated from samples purified using SOMAmers is comparable to existing commercially available differential extraction-based methods at higher sperm concentrations. This purification method is simple, offers relatively rapid (<2hr) sperm purification, and can potentially be automated using robotic workstations. This work serves as proof of concept that demonstrates the first use of SOMAmer reagents as affinity ligands to bind sperm cells. With further development, this technique can potentially be used for high-throughput sexual assault forensic casework.

FlipTube™ technology promotes clean manipulation of forensic samples on automated robotic workstations

One method to reduce forensic DNA crime laboratory casework backlogs is to rethink DNA sample preparation and analysis processing; often using automated liquid handling platforms that are both robust and performance-verified. This enables forensic scientists to develop improved DNA processing solutions and shorten the time leading up to data analysis and reporting. However, some may argue that automated processing of forensic samples increases risk of sample contamination as the samples are de-capped and racked onto the robotic platform in a batched manner, and remain uncapped during the entire process. Sample-to-sample and analyst-to-sample manipulations differ between manual and automated processes, as forensic examiners open and serially manipulate sample tubes one at a time in microtubes, while typical automated processes lack the capability to open and close these tubes.In response to both real and perceived court concerns regarding evidence sample integrity, the Broward County Sheriff’s Office Crime Laboratory is adopting an automated workflow that mimics manual actions as closely as possible, using an automated liquid handler and FlipTube microtubes to promote the clean manipulation of forensic samples. FlipTubes are automated microcentrifuge tubes specifically developed to facilitate opening and closing of the microtube lid on an automated liquid handling platform in order to increase walk-away time while decreasing the risk of sample contamination. FlipTubes were incorporated into the quantification through amplification steps of the pre-PCR DNA typing workflow. This workflow, with the incorporation of FlipTubes, is currently being validated for use in forensic casework.

An automated approach to prepare tissue-derived spatially barcoded RNA-sequencing libraries.

Sequencing the nucleic acid content of individual cells or specific biological samples is becoming increasingly common. This drives the need for robust, scalable and automated library preparation protocols. Furthermore, an increased understanding of tissue heterogeneity has lead to the development of several unique sequencing protocols that aim to retain or infer spatial context. In this study, a protocol for retaining spatial information of transcripts has been adapted to run on a robotic workstation. The method spatial transcriptomics is evaluated in terms of robustness and variability through the preparation of reference RNA, as well as through preparation and sequencing of six replicate sections of a gingival tissue biopsy from a patient with periodontitis. The results are reduced technical variability between replicates and a higher throughput, processing four times more samples with less than a third of the hands on time, compared to the standard protocol.

Graphical user interface for a robotic workstation in a surgical environment.

Surgery using a robotic system has proven to have significant potential but is still a highly challenging task for the surgeon. An eye surgery assistant has been developed to eliminate the problem of tremor caused by human motions endangering the outcome of ophthalmic surgery. In order to exploit the full potential of the robot and improve the workflow of the surgeon, providing the ability to change control parameters live in the system as well as the ability to connect additional ancillary systems is necessary. Additionally the surgeon should always be able to get an overview over the status of all systems with a quick glance. Therefore a workstation has been built. The contribution of this paper is the design and the implementation of an intuitive graphical user interface for this workstation. The interface has been designed with feedback from surgeons and technical staff in order to ensure its usability in a surgical environment. Furthermore, the system was designed with the intent of supporting additional systems with minimal additional effort.

Robot workstation failure recovery based on a layout optimization

This article focuses on the robot workstation layout problem and briefly discusses a recovery control strategy. Since present industrial workstations utilize a flexible manufacturing cell served by a robot, researchers in this field try to find the best method determining the physical organization of resources in available space. As solving the facility layout problem (FLP) might reduce material handling expenses, the most common objective in these approaches is to minimize the material handling costs. Our work introduces a new approach in obtaining the optimal positions of resources in a robot workstation where considerable contribution to the final layout design comes from the failure recovery data. The optimization criteria include material flow and transportation cost as the standard FLP objectives. In our approach we also consider the resource rate of failure and treatment quality as a part of the failure recovery. The optimization problems were solved with the state of the art optimization algorithm for the nonlinear optimization problems. The computational results of the study are discussed and analysed on the basis of a real industrial application. The commonly used objective function is compared to the proposed objective function extended with the failure recovery. As an important part of the failure recovery strategy, making the proper recovery decision in the workstation control design is also discussed.

Virtual Designing of Robotic Workstations

The number of companies that decide to employ industrial robots to facilitate their production process is on the constant increase. Implementation of such solutions requires deep analysis of manifold aspects of such an endeavour. Apart from the economical face of the problem, there appear issues connected with integration of robots with the existing manufacturing infrastructure. Hence software enabling simulation and analysis of a robot work in the future environment is in demand. The following article is devoted to the problem of virtual designing of robotic workstations. The work presents basic information regarding application of robots in manufacturing companies and introduces typical software for simulation and programming of industrial robots. What is more, the process of designing a virtual environment and conducting analysis of robot work analysis is presented based on the laboratory set-up with Kawasaki RS003N robot. Finally, other examples of virtually designed robotic workstations are introduced.

Estimating performance in a Robotic Mobile Fulfillment System

This paper models Robotic Mobile Fulfillment Systems and analyzes their performance. A Robotic Mobile Fulfillment System is an automated, parts-to-picker storage system where robots bring pods with products to a workstation. It is especially suited for e-commerce distribution centers with large assortments of small products, and with strong demand fluctuations. Its most important feature is the ability to automatically sort inventory and to adapt the warehouse layout in a short period of time. Queueing network models are developed for both single-line and multi-line orders, to analytically estimate maximum order throughput, average order cycle time, and robot utilization. These models can be used to quickly evaluate different warehouse layouts, or robot zoning strategies. Two main contributions are that the models include accurate driving behavior of robots and multi-line orders. The results show that: (1) the analytical models accurately estimate robot utilization, workstation utilization, and order cycle time, (2) maximum order throughput is quite insensitive to the length-to-width ratio of the storage area and (3) maximum order throughput is affected by the location of the workstations around the storage area.

Model-based high-throughput design of ion exchange protein chromatography

This work describes the development of a model-based high-throughput design (MHD) tool for the operating space determination of a chromatographic cation-exchange protein purification process. Based on a previously developed thermodynamic mechanistic model, the MHD tool generates a large amount of system knowledge and thereby permits minimizing the required experimental workload. In particular, each new experiment is designed to generate information needed to help refine and improve the model. Unnecessary experiments that do not increase system knowledge are avoided. Instead of aspiring to a perfectly parameterized model, the goal of this design tool is to use early model parameter estimates to find interesting experimental spaces, and to refine the model parameter estimates with each new experiment until a satisfactory set of process parameters is found.The MHD tool is split into four sections: (1) prediction, high throughput experimentation using experiments in (2) diluted conditions and (3) robotic automated liquid handling workstations (robotic workstation), and (4) operating space determination and validation. (1) Protein and resin information, in conjunction with the thermodynamic model, is used to predict protein resin capacity. (2) The predicted model parameters are refined based on gradient experiments in diluted conditions. (3) Experiments on the robotic workstation are used to further refine the model parameters. (4) The refined model is used to determine operating parameter space that allows for satisfactory purification of the protein of interest on the HPLC scale. Each section of the MHD tool is used to define the adequate experimental procedures for the next section, thus avoiding any unnecessary experimental work.We used the MHD tool to design a polishing step for two proteins, a monoclonal antibody and a fusion protein, on two chromatographic resins, in order to demonstrate it has the ability to strongly accelerate the early phases of process development.

Cyber–Physical Systems for Open-Knowledge-Driven Manufacturing Execution Systems

Manufacturing execution systems play an important role of bridging high-level enterprise functions and production or manufacturing operations. The embedded systems are usually in charge of controlling execution of the operations. Modern embedded systems have become capable of simultaneous and deterministic execution of control algorithms and IP-based communication, making it possible to create complex cyber–physical systems (CPSs), where the computational and communication resources of a device can be used directly for various control, supervisory, or monitoring functions. The complexity for defining open-knowledge-driven manufacturing execution system (OKD-MES) is in maintaining awareness of overall system state to avoid disruptive actions as various functions may be requested from a system. The problem is that obtaining such information on system state may necessitate collecting data from a number of devices, as there may not be a single data point for state information. This paper describes and illustrates an approach for designing OKD-MES on top of CPSs that controls robot workstations and conveyor-based transportation system of a pallet-based production system.

Improved high throughput processing of touch DNA samples

We report the design of a 96-well centrifugal filtration plate and its use in an automated DNA extraction method of touched objects. Cells on the touched objects such as glove prints, swabs from door handles, tools, and so on, are lysed in the 96-well filtration plate. The cell lysate is separated from the objects by centrifugation. Then automated DNA extraction and purification are carried out automatically on a robotic workstation. Such a method not only improves the DNA profile obtained from touched objects but also shortens sample processing time. Processing of 92 samples can be completed in 90 min.

Influence of binding pH and protein solubility on the dynamic binding capacity in hydrophobic interaction chromatography

Hydrophobic interaction chromatography (HIC) is one of the most frequently used purification methods in biopharmaceutical industry. A major drawback of HIC, however, is the rather low dynamic binding capacity (DBC) obtained when compared to e.g. ion exchange chromatography (IEX). The typical purification procedure for HIC includes binding at neutral pH, independently of the proteins nature and isoelectric point. Most approaches to process intensification are based on resin and salt screenings.In this paper a combination of protein solubility data and varying binding pH leads to a clear enhancement of dynamic binding capacity. This is shown for three proteins of acidic, neutral, and alkaline isoelectric points. High-throughput solubility screenings as well as miniaturized and parallelized breakthrough curves on Media Scout RoboColumns (Atoll, Germany) were conducted at pH 3–10 on a fully automated robotic workstation. The screening results show a correlation between the DBC and the operational pH, the protein's isoelectric point and the overall solubility. Also, an inverse relationship of DBC in HIC and the binding kinetics was observed. By changing the operational pH, the DBC could be increased up to 30% compared to the standard purification procedure performed at neutral pH. As structural changes of the protein are reported during HIC processes, the applied samples and the elution fractions were proven not to be irreversibly unfolded.

Bioprocess automation on a Mini Pilot Plant enables fast quantitative microbial phenotyping.

BackgroundThe throughput of cultivation experiments in bioprocess development has drastically increased in recent years due to the availability of sophisticated microliter scale cultivation devices. However, as these devices still require time-consuming manual work, the bottleneck was merely shifted to media preparation, inoculation and finally the analyses of cultivation samples. A first step towards solving these issues was undertaken in our former study by embedding a BioLector in a robotic workstation. This workstation already allowed for the optimization of heterologous protein production processes, but remained limited when aiming for the characterization of small molecule producer strains. In this work, we extended our workstation to a versatile Mini Pilot Plant (MPP) by integrating further robotic workflows and microtiter plate assays that now enable a fast and accurate phenotyping of a broad range of microbial production hosts.ResultsA fully automated harvest procedure was established, which repeatedly samples up to 48 wells from BioLector cultivations in response to individually defined trigger conditions. The samples are automatically clarified by centrifugation and finally frozen for subsequent analyses. Sensitive metabolite assays in 384-well plate scale were integrated on the MPP for the direct determination of substrate uptake (specifically D-glucose and D-xylose) and product formation (specifically amino acids). In a first application, we characterized a set of Corynebacterium glutamicum L-lysine producer strains and could rapidly identify a unique strain showing increased L-lysine titers, which was subsequently confirmed in lab-scale bioreactor experiments. In a second study, we analyzed the substrate uptake kinetics of a previously constructed D-xylose-converting C. glutamicum strain during cultivation on mixed carbon sources in a fully automated experiment.ConclusionsThe presented MPP is designed to face the challenges typically encountered during early-stage bioprocess development. Especially the bottleneck of sample analyses from fast and parallelized microtiter plate cultivations can be solved using cutting-edge robotic automation. As robotic workstations become increasingly attractive for biotechnological research, we expect our setup to become a template for future bioprocess development.

Theoretical and experimental analysis of a hybrid industrial robot used for friction stir welding

This paper highlights the main aspects involved in the process of friction stir welding (FSW) realised by means of a robotic manufacturing workstation, showing the outcomes of theoretical and experimental analyses. The cell is equipped with a hybrid industrial robot, whose static performance is successfully exploited for the realisation of welding products with high mechanical properties. The robot flexibility of use is addressed. Several tests allow to gain a deeper understanding of the effect of technological parameters on FSW processes. Such information can be used for the development of model-based controllers, which are assumed to effectively improve accuracy and process stability also in the welding of complex geometries.

A hybrid DNA extraction method for the qualitative and quantitative assessment of bacterial communities from poultry production samples.

The efficacy of DNA extraction protocols can be highly dependent upon both the type of sample being investigated and the types of downstream analyses performed. Considering that the use of new bacterial community analysis techniques (e.g., microbiomics, metagenomics) is becoming more prevalent in the agricultural and environmental sciences and many environmental samples within these disciplines can be physiochemically and microbiologically unique (e.g., fecal and litter/bedding samples from the poultry production spectrum), appropriate and effective DNA extraction methods need to be carefully chosen. Therefore, a novel semi-automated hybrid DNA extraction method was developed specifically for use with environmental poultry production samples. This method is a combination of the two major types of DNA extraction: mechanical and enzymatic. A two-step intense mechanical homogenization step (using bead-beating specifically formulated for environmental samples) was added to the beginning of the "gold standard" enzymatic DNA extraction method for fecal samples to enhance the removal of bacteria and DNA from the sample matrix and improve the recovery of Gram-positive bacterial community members. Once the enzymatic extraction portion of the hybrid method was initiated, the remaining purification process was automated using a robotic workstation to increase sample throughput and decrease sample processing error. In comparison to the strict mechanical and enzymatic DNA extraction methods, this novel hybrid method provided the best overall combined performance when considering quantitative (using 16S rRNA qPCR) and qualitative (using microbiomics) estimates of the total bacterial communities when processing poultry feces and litter samples.

A multiplex real-time PCR-platform integrated into automated extraction method for the rapid detection and measurement of oncogenic HPV type-specific viral DNA load from cervical samples.

The persistent infection with most frequent high-risk (HR)-HPV types (HPV-16, -18, -31, -33, -45, -52, and -58) is considered to be the true precursor of neoplastic progression. HR-HPV detection and genotyping is the most effective and accurate approach in screening of the early cervical lesions and cervical cancer, although also the HR-HPV DNA load is considered an ancillary marker for persistent HPV infection. Here, it is described an in-house multiplex quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR)-based typing system for the rapid detection and quantitation of the most common HR-HPV genotypes from cervical cytology screening tests. First, a separate qPCR assay to quantify a single-copy gene is recommended prior to screening (prescreening assay) to verify the adequate cellularity of the sample and the quality of DNA extracted and to normalize the HPV copy number per genomic DNA equivalent in the sample. Subsequently, to minimize the number of reactions, two multiplex qPCR assays (first line screening) are performed to detect and quantify HPV-16, -18, -31, -33, -45, -52, and -58 (HPV-18 and -45 are measured together by single-fluorophore). In addition, a multiplex qPCR assay specific for HPV-18 and HPV-45 is also available to type precisely the samples found to be positive for one of the two strains. Finally, two nucleic acid extraction methods are proposed by using a 96-well plate format: one manual method (supported by centrifuge or by vacuum) and one automated method integrated into a robotic liquid handler workstation to minimize material and hands-on time. In conclusion, this system provides a reliable high-throughput method for the rapid detection and quantitation of HR-HPV DNA load in cervical samples.

Automated, High-Throughput IgG-Antibody Glycoprofiling Platform

One of today's key challenges is the ability to decode the functions of complex carbohydrates in various biological contexts. To generate high-quality glycomics data in a high-throughput fashion, we developed a robotized and low-cost N-glycan analysis platform for glycoprofiling of immunoglobulin G antibodies (IgG), which are central players of the immune system and of vital importance in the biopharmaceutical industry. The key features include (a) rapid IgG affinity purification and sample concentration, (b) protein denaturation and glycan release on a multiwell filtration device, (c) glycan purification on solid-supported hydrazide, and (d) glycan quantification by ultra performance liquid chromatography. The sample preparation workflow was automated using a robotic liquid-handling workstation, allowing the preparation of 96 samples (or multiples thereof) in 22 h with excellent reproducibility and, thus, should greatly facilitate biomarker discovery and glycosylation monitoring of therapeutic IgGs.