Experimental planning program, experimental planning device, and experimental planning method

Abstract

To formulate an experimental plan so as to minimize time required for an experiment in a laboratory where laboratory automation has been implemented.SOLUTION: An experimental design program executes at least one of: processing to acquire experiment content data indicating a content of an experiment, instrument type data indicating type of instruments used in each of steps of the experiment, and at least one of data indicating a utility function on the instrument type data and data indicating a utility function on available instrument data, and solve a mixed integer programming problem for determining instrument type data for minimizing time required for the experiment on the assumption that an instrument indicated by one instrument type data is used in each step of the experiment, by applying a branch-and-bound method; and processing to solve a mixed integer programming problem for determining instrument type data for minimizing the time required for the experiment on the assumption that an instrument indicated by one available instrument data is used in the laboratory, by applying a branch-and-bound method.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an experimental planning program, an experimental planning device, and an experimental planning method. [Background technology]

[0002] Traditionally, research in fields such as life sciences has been hindered from proceeding efficiently due to the complexity of sample transportation, dispensing, transfer of liquids, etc. In light of this situation, research and development has been progressing in recent years on laboratory automation, which involves introducing and utilizing robots that automatically perform these tasks in laboratories.

[0003] In addition, in a laboratory where laboratory automation is applied, in order to efficiently carry out an experiment, it is important to allocate each piece of equipment, such as a robot, to each step that constitutes the experiment so as to shorten the time required for the experiment as much as possible. As a technology for supporting such allocation, for example, there is a computer-implemented method for scheduling operations for automated laboratory equipment, which is disclosed in Patent Document 1.

[0004] The computer-implemented method includes receiving at least one instruction and generating one or more optimization problem instances using one or more resource descriptions of the automated laboratory equipment, one or more protocol descriptions of the automated laboratory equipment, an objective function, and the at least one instruction. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2018-81081 A

[0006] However, the above-mentioned computer-implemented method may not be able to allocate each device, such as a robot, to each process that constitutes an experiment in a way that minimizes the time required for the experiment. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and has an objective of providing an experimental planning program, an experimental planning device, and an experimental planning method that are capable of formulating an experimental plan that minimizes the time required for an experiment in a laboratory where laboratory automation is applied. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] One aspect of the present invention is In experiments carried out in the laboratory At least two steps carried out simultaneously Data on Indicate the type of equipment used in each process that constitutes the above experiment. Machine Data by device type, Experiment content data including process required time data indicating the time required for each process, and time difference constraint condition data indicating a constraint condition of a time difference between the start times of the at least two processes, the difference between the completion times, or the difference between the start time and the completion time; At least one available equipment data indicating equipment available for the experiment in the laboratory; Data showing a utility function, which is a function showing the time required for an experiment as a utility when the equipment type data corresponding to each process is used as a given condition and the equipment type is combined with the equipment available in the laboratory; A data acquisition function to acquire the before Assuming that the equipment indicated in the available equipment data is available in the laboratory, The constraint condition indicated by the time difference constraint condition data is satisfied, and Determining the device type data that minimizes the time required for the experiment Mixed integer programming problems ,before Effect Based on the function Solve and solve Experimental Planning Department Reason Functions for formulating experimental plans and Mixed notes Show the solution to the combined integer programming problem. Solution Day Ta and an experimental planning program that enables a computer to realize the above-mentioned functions.

[0009] One aspect of the present invention is a method for calculating the time difference constraint condition data, which is data on at least two processes executed simultaneously in an experiment conducted in a laboratory, and includes experiment content data including equipment type data indicating the type of equipment used in each process constituting the experiment, process required time data indicating the time required for each process, and time difference constraint condition data indicating a constraint condition on a time difference between the difference between the start times of the at least two processes, the difference between the completion times, or the difference between the completion time and the start time, and at least one available equipment data indicating equipment that can be used for the experiment in the laboratory and available equipment data associated with the laboratory, and a method for calculating the type of the equipment and the available equipment data associated with the laboratory as given conditions. a data acquisition function for acquiring data indicating a utility function, which is a function showing, as a utility, the time required for an experiment when equipment available in the laboratory is combined; an experiment planning function for executing an experiment planning process, which solves, based on the utility function, a mixed integer programming problem that determines the available equipment data that satisfies the constraint conditions indicated by the time difference constraint data and minimizes the time required for the experiment, under the assumption that the equipment indicated by the equipment type data is used in each process that constitutes the experiment, and an experiment planning output function for outputting solution data indicating a solution to the mixed integer programming problem. .

[0010] In the above-mentioned experiment planning program, the data acquisition function may acquire the experiment content data that defines the sequence of each process that constitutes the experiment.

[0011] One aspect of the present invention is In experiments carried out in the laboratory At least two steps carried out simultaneously Data on Indicate the type of equipment used in each process that constitutes the above experiment. Machine Data by device type, Experiment content data including process required time data indicating the time required for each process, and time difference constraint condition data indicating a constraint condition of a time difference between the start times of the at least two processes, the difference between the completion times, or the difference between the completion time and the start time; At least one available equipment data indicating equipment available for the experiment in the laboratory; Data showing a utility function, which is a function showing the time required for an experiment as a utility when the equipment type data corresponding to each process is used as a given condition and the equipment type is combined with the equipment available in the laboratory; A data acquisition unit for acquiring before Assuming that the equipment indicated in the available equipment data is available in the laboratory, The constraint condition indicated by the time difference constraint condition data is satisfied, and Determining the device type data that minimizes the time required for the experiment Mixed integer programming problems ,before Effect Based on the function Solve it, Experiment Planning Department Reason The experimental planning department and Mixed notes Show the solution to the combined integer programming problem. Solution Day Ta and an experiment planning output unit that outputs the experiment planning information. One aspect of the present invention is a method for performing an experiment in a laboratory, the method comprising: experiment content data including: data on at least two processes executed simultaneously in an experiment conducted in a laboratory, the experiment content data including: equipment type data indicating the type of equipment used in each process constituting the experiment; process required time data indicating the time required for each process; and time difference constraint condition data indicating a constraint condition on a time difference between the start times of the at least two processes, the difference between the completion times, or the difference between the completion time and the start time; at least one available equipment data indicating equipment that can be used for the experiment in the laboratory; and available equipment data associated with the laboratory, the method comprising: The experimental planning device includes: a data acquisition unit that acquires data indicating a utility function, which is a function that indicates, as a utility, the time required for an experiment when an equipment type is combined with equipment available in the laboratory; an experimental planning unit that executes an experimental planning process to solve, based on the utility function, a mixed integer programming problem that determines the available equipment data that satisfies the constraint conditions indicated by the time difference constraint data and minimizes the time required for the experiment, under the assumption that the equipment indicated by the equipment type data is used in each process that constitutes the experiment; and an experimental planning output unit that outputs solution data that indicates a solution to the mixed integer programming problem.

[0012] One aspect of the present invention is A computer-implemented method for designing experiments in a laboratory At least two steps carried out simultaneously Data on Indicate the type of equipment used in each process that constitutes the above experiment. Machine Data by device type, Experiment content data including process required time data indicating the time required for each process, and time difference constraint condition data indicating a constraint condition of a time difference between the start times of the at least two processes, the difference between the completion times, or the difference between the completion time and the start time; At least one available equipment data indicating equipment available for the experiment in the laboratory; Data showing a utility function, which is a function showing the time required for an experiment as a utility when the equipment type data corresponding to each process is used as a given condition and the equipment type is combined with the equipment available in the laboratory; is acquired by a data acquisition unit or a data acquisition function, before Assuming that the equipment indicated in the available equipment data is available in the laboratory, The constraint condition indicated by the time difference constraint condition data is satisfied, and Determining the device type data that minimizes the time required for the experiment Mixed integer programming problems ,before Effect Based on the function Solve it, Experiment Planning Department Reason Executed by the Experiment Planning Department or Experiment Planning Function, Mixed notesShow the solution to the combined integer programming problem. Solution Day Ta The experimental planning method is output by an experimental planning output unit or an experimental planning output function. One aspect of the present invention is an experiment planning method executed by a computer, the experiment content data including data on at least two processes executed simultaneously in an experiment carried out in a laboratory, the data being equipment type data indicating the type of equipment used in each process constituting the experiment, process required time data indicating the time required for each process, and time difference constraint condition data indicating a constraint condition on a time difference between the difference between the start times of the at least two processes, the difference between the completion times, or the difference between the completion time and the start time of the at least two processes, at least one available equipment data indicating equipment that can be used for the experiment in the laboratory, and the available equipment data associated with the laboratory, the experiment content data including data on at least two processes executed simultaneously in an experiment carried out in a laboratory, the time difference constraint condition data indicating a constraint condition on a time difference between the start times of the at least two processes, the difference between the completion times, or the difference between the completion time and the start time of the at least two processes, and and data indicating a utility function which is a function which indicates, as a utility, the time required for an experiment when the type of equipment is combined with the equipment available in the laboratory, and, assuming that the equipment indicated by the equipment type data is used in each process that constitutes the experiment, a mixed integer programming problem which determines the available equipment data which satisfies the constraint condition indicated by the time difference constraint data and minimizes the time required for the experiment, is executed by an experimental planning unit or an experimental planning function, and solution data indicating a solution to the mixed integer programming problem is output by an experimental planning output unit or an experimental planning output function. Effect of the Invention

[0013] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an experimental planning program, an experimental planning device, and an experimental planning method that can formulate an experimental plan that minimizes the time required for an experiment in a laboratory where laboratory automation is applied. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of an experiment planning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a software configuration of an experimental planning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing executed by an experiment planning system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a directed acyclic graph indicated by experiment content data according to a first application example of an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 5] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of an experiment indicated by the experiment content data according to the first application example of the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of an experiment indicated by the experiment content data according to the first application example of the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of an experiment indicated by the experiment content data according to the first application example of the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] 11 is a diagram showing an example of devices indicated by usable device data according to a first application example of the embodiment of the present invention; FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of an experiment plan for minimizing the time required for an experiment according to a first application example of an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a directed acyclic graph indicated by experimental content data according to a second application example of an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an experiment plan for minimizing the time required for an experiment according to a second application example of an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a directed acyclic graph indicated by experiment content data according to a third application example of an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of an experiment indicated by the experiment content data according to the third application example of the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 14] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of an experiment indicated by the experiment content data according to the third application example of the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 15] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of an experiment indicated by the experiment content data according to the third application example of the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 16] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of devices indicated by usable device data in a third application example of the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 17] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an experiment plan for minimizing the time required for an experiment according to a third application example of an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 18] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a directed acyclic graph indicated by experiment content data according to a fourth application example of an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 19] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of an experiment indicated by the experiment content data according to the fourth application example of the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 20] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of an experiment indicated by the experiment content data according to the fourth application example of the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 21] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of an experiment indicated by the experiment content data according to the fourth application example of the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 22] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of devices indicated by usable device data in a fourth application example of the embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 23]FIG. 22 shows an example of an experimental design that minimizes the time required to complete three experiments represented by the efficient acyclic graph shown in FIG. 21. [Figure 24] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a directed acyclic graph indicated by experiment content data according to a fifth application example of an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 25] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of an experiment indicated by the experiment content data in the fifth application example of the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 26] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of an experiment indicated by the experiment content data in the fifth application example of the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 27] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of an experiment indicated by the experiment content data in the fifth application example of the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 28] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of devices indicated by usable device data in a fifth application example of the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 29] FIG. 28 is a diagram showing an example of an experiment design that minimizes the time required to complete three experiments shown by the directed acyclic graph shown in FIG. 27 when the three experiments are conducted as simultaneously as possible. [Diagram 30] FIG. 28 is a diagram showing an example of an experimental design that minimizes the time required to complete three experiments shown by the directed acyclic graph shown in FIG. 27 when the three experiments are conducted as separately as possible. [Diagram 31] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a directed acyclic graph indicated by experiment content data according to a sixth application example of an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 32] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of an experiment indicated by the experiment content data in the sixth application example of the embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 33] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of an experiment indicated by the experiment content data in the sixth application example of the embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 34] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of an experiment indicated by the experiment content data in the sixth application example of the embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 35]FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of devices indicated by usable device data in a sixth application example of the embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 36] FIG. 35 is a diagram showing an example of an experiment plan that minimizes the time required to complete the experiment shown by the directed acyclic graph shown in FIG. 31 when the experiment is carried out using one third device shown in FIG. 35. [Figure 37] FIG. 37 is a diagram showing an example of an experiment plan that minimizes the time required to complete an experiment represented by the directed acyclic graph shown in FIG. 31 when two units of the third device shown in FIG. 35 are used to conduct the experiment. [Figure 38] FIG. 37 is a diagram showing an example of an experiment plan that minimizes the time required to complete an experiment represented by the directed acyclic graph shown in FIG. 31 when three units of the third device shown in FIG. 35 are used to conduct the experiment. [Figure 39] FIG. 37 is a diagram showing an example of an experiment plan that minimizes the time required to complete an experiment represented by the directed acyclic graph shown in FIG. 31 when four units of the third device shown in FIG. 35 are used to conduct the experiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0015] An experimental planning program, an experimental planning device, and an experimental planning method according to an embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0016] First, an example of the hardware configuration of an experimental planning device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of an experimental planning device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 1, the experimental planning device 10 includes a processor 11, a main memory device 12, a communication interface 13, an auxiliary memory device 14, an input / output device 15, and a bus 16.

[0017] The processor 11 is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), which reads and executes the experimental planning program 100 to realize each function of the experimental planning device 10. The processor 11 may also read and execute a program other than the experimental planning program 100 to realize a function required to realize each function of the experimental planning device 10.

[0018] The main storage device 12 is, for example, a RAM (Random Access Memory), and stores in advance the experiment planning program 100 that is read and executed by the processor 11 and other experiment planning programs.

[0019] The communication interface 13 is an interface circuit for communicating with other devices via a network, such as a wide area network (WAN), a local area network (LAN), the Internet, or an intranet.

[0020] The auxiliary storage device 14 is, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), a flash memory, or a read only memory (ROM).

[0021] The input / output device 15 is, for example, an input / output port. For example, an input device and an output device are connected to the input / output device 15. The input device is, for example, a touch panel display, a mouse, or a keyboard, and is used to operate the experimental planning apparatus 10 and input data to the experimental planning apparatus 10. The output device is, for example, a touch panel display, or a speaker, and is used by the experimental planning apparatus 10 to present information to the user.

[0022] Next, the software configuration of the experimental planning device will be described with reference to Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the software configuration of the experimental planning device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 2, an experimental planning program 100 includes a data acquisition function 101, an experimental planning function 102, and an experimental planning output function 103. The data acquisition function 101, the experimental planning function 102, and the experimental planning output function 103 are all realized by the processor 11 reading out and executing the experimental planning program 100 stored in the main memory device 12.

[0023] The data acquisition function 101 acquires experiment content data, at least one piece of equipment type data, at least one piece of usable equipment data, and at least one of first utility function data and second utility function data.

[0024] The experiment content data includes at least two steps performed simultaneously, and is data indicating the content of an experiment to be performed in a laboratory. For example, the experiment content data is data indicating the content of each step that constitutes the experiment. The content of each step that constitutes the experiment may include, for example, the equipment used in each step, the time required for each step, the sequence of each step, and a step number assigned to each step to identify each step.

[0025] The data acquisition function 101 may acquire experiment content data indicating the content of an experiment including at least two processes that are executed simultaneously and have a predetermined condition imposed on at least one of the difference between the start times and the difference between the end times. The data acquisition function 101 may also acquire experiment content data that specifies the context of each process that constitutes the experiment. An example of such experiment content data is data indicating a directed acyclic graph that specifies the context of each process that constitutes the experiment.

[0026] The equipment type data is data indicating the type of equipment used in each process constituting the experiment. The usable equipment data is data indicating equipment usable for the experiment in the laboratory. The first utility function data is data indicating the equipment type data and a utility function related to a first mixed integer programming problem described below. The second utility function is data indicating the usable equipment data and a utility function related to a second mixed integer programming problem described below.

[0027] Furthermore, when the experimental planning device 10 selects available equipment data that will minimize the time required for an experiment under the assumption that an equipment indicated by a single piece of available equipment data is used in each process that constitutes the experiment, the data acquisition function 101 needs to acquire second utility function data. On the other hand, when the experimental planning device 10 selects equipment type data that will minimize the time required for an experiment under the assumption that an equipment indicated by a single piece of available equipment data is available for use in the laboratory, the data acquisition function 101 needs to acquire first utility function data.

[0028] The experimental planning function 102 executes at least one of a first experimental planning process and a second experimental planning process. The first experimental planning process is a process of formulating a problem of determining available equipment data that minimizes the time required for an experiment as a first mixed integer planning problem, under the assumption that an equipment indicated by one available equipment data is used in each process constituting an experiment, and solving the first mixed integer planning problem by applying a branch-and-bound method based on a second utility function. The second experimental planning process is a process of formulating a problem of determining available equipment data that minimizes the time required for an experiment as a second mixed integer planning problem, under the assumption that an equipment indicated by one available equipment data is available in a laboratory, and solving the second mixed integer planning problem by applying a branch-and-bound method based on a first utility function.

[0029] For example, the experiment planning function 102 first formulates the problem of determining equipment type data that will minimize the time required for an experiment as an S-LAB (Scheduling for Laboratory Automation in Biology) problem, which is one type of job-shop scheduling problem (JSP). Generally, a job-shop scheduling problem defines an experiment that is composed of multiple pieces of equipment of different types and multiple processes that are performed in a specific order. Furthermore, the time required for each process and the type of equipment used in each process are determined in advance. The objective of a job-shop scheduling problem is to assign a piece of equipment to each process so that the time required for the experiment is minimized. Specifically, the experiment planning function 102 formulates the problem of determining equipment type data that will minimize the time required for an experiment as an S-LAB problem using the following equations (1) to (13). Note that the bold Z in the following equations + represents the set of positive integers.

[0030] Equation (1) represents the total number K of types of equipment installed in the laboratory. Equation (2) represents the total number M of equipment installed in the laboratory. Equation (3) represents the number T of equipment of a certain type. m Equation (4) represents the number of experiments J that are performed simultaneously. Equation (5) represents the total number N of steps that make up the experiment to which the experiment index j is assigned. j Equation (6) represents the total number N of steps included in a set of experiments that are performed simultaneously. Equation (7) represents the a-th step. A is a positive integer between 1 and N. Equation (8) represents the relationship between the two steps. Equation (8) represents the order of steps O a After step O b If the step O is executed, the value is "1", otherwise the value is "0". In addition, the positive integer b is 1 or more and N or less. a Equation (10) represents the type of equipment that can execute the process O aEquation (11) represents the total number of predetermined conditions imposed on the difference in start times or the difference in completion times of two processes executed simultaneously. Equation (12) represents the maximum value of the difference in start times or the difference in completion times of two processes executed simultaneously. Furthermore, the positive integer j represents the index of the predetermined condition imposed on the difference in start times or the difference in completion times of two processes executed simultaneously. Equation (13) represents the buffer time determined between two processes executed simultaneously.

[0031]

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[0041]

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[0044] The objective of the S-LAB problem is to assign any of the devices to each process so that the time required to complete all the experiments is the shortest. The experiment planning function 102 also derives the items expressed by the following formula (14) and formula (15). Formula (14) expresses the process O a Equation (15) represents the start time of process O a This represents the device number of the device that executes the above.

[0045]

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[0046]

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[0047] Then, the experiment planning function 102 assigns a device to each process so that the time required to execute all the processes constituting the experiment is the shortest. This process is expressed by the following equation (16).

[0048]

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[0049] In addition, the experiment planning function 102 formulates the S-LAB problem as a mixed-integer programming problem (MIP) and requires linear constraints, as described below, to solve the MIP by applying the branch-and-bound method.

[0050] The objective function expressed by equation (8) requires that the last process to be completed at the earliest possible time. However, even if a mixed integer programming problem is solved, it is not possible to directly determine the last process to be executed. For this reason, the experimental planning function 102 introduces a variable Ω expressed by the following equation (17). In addition, a constraint is imposed that the variable Ω must indicate a time later than the completion time of each process. This constraint is expressed by the following equation (18). Then, the experimental planning function 102 assigns one of the devices to each process so that the last process to be executed has the earliest completion time by minimizing the variable.

[0051]

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[0052]

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[0053] In addition, the S-LAB problem formulated as a mixed integer programming problem must be subject to the constraint that one device cannot be used for two or more processes at the same time and that the order of processes defined by the directed graph must be maintained. For this reason, the experiment planning function 102 uses the quantity defined in the following formula (19) and the quantity defined in the following formula (20).

[0054] The quantity defined in equation (19) is the Boolean equivalent of the quantity expressed in equation (15), and is "1" when the quantity expressed in equation (15) is equal to "m", and is "0" otherwise. The quantity defined in equation (20) indicates the order of priority between two processes in which the same equipment is used, and is expressed as E a =E b = m and process O a The priority of process O is higher. b If it is higher than the priority of the other, it will be set to "1", otherwise it will be set to "0".

[0055]

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[0056]

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[0058] However, it is difficult to directly describe the constraints expressed by formulas (19) to (21) using linear constraints. Therefore, the experimental planning function 102 describes the constraints defined by formula (20) using the following formulas (22) to (25), and describes the constraints regarding the priority order between two processes in which the same equipment is used using the following formula (26). The experimental planning function 102 also describes the constraints expressed by the following formula (27). Formula (22) expresses the constraint that one equipment cannot be used for two or more processes at the same time. Formula (23) expresses the priority order between two processes in which the same equipment is used. Formula (24) expresses that the constraint expressed by formula (23) can exist for at most one equipment. Formula (25) expresses the constraint that the constraint expressed by formula (23) must not be contrary to the context of each process. Formula (26) expresses the constraint that one equipment cannot be used for two or more processes at the same time. Equation (27) expresses the constraint that the sequence relationships between different processes must be maintained.

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[0065] In the S-LAB problem, the predetermined condition imposed on at least one of the difference in the start time and the difference in the completion time of two processes executed simultaneously is that both of the processes O a And, Process O a Constraints on the start or end time of process O b And, Process O b Constraints on the start or end time of process O a Start time or completion time of process O b The predetermined condition is a condition that can be set between two arbitrarily selected steps. Specifically, the predetermined condition is expressed by any of the following formulas (28) to (31). Formula (28) expresses the maximum difference between the start time or completion time of step O and the maximum value of the difference between the start time or completion time of step O. a Start time and process O b The difference between the start time of i Equation (29) expresses the constraint that the process O a Start time and process O b The difference between the completion time of i Equation (30) expresses the constraint that the process O a Completion time of process O b The difference between the start time of i Equation (31) expresses the constraint that the process O a Completion time of process O b The difference between the completion time of i It represents a constraint that:

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[0070] Furthermore, when the experiment planning function 102 executes again the process of allocating each piece of equipment to each step so as to minimize the time required for an experiment of the same type as a previously handled experiment, it must execute the process under the constraints that the time required for the experiment must be minimized and that the content of the experiment for which the process was previously executed must not be changed. Here, the experiment planning function 102 specifies the relationship between the previously handled experiment and an experiment of the same type as the currently handled experiment by the following formulas (32) and (33), which include the total number N' of steps included in the previously handled experiment and a positive integer b' related to the previously handled experiment. Formula (32) expresses the number of steps O of the previously handled experiment as b´ Step O of the experiment similar to the experiment in question a Equation (33) expresses the relationship between the two steps when the experimental step O b´ After that, step O of the same experiment a This shows the relationship between the two steps when E is executed. Equation (32) also expresses E a =E b´ If this is true, the result is "1", otherwise the result is "0". Also, as shown in equation (35), E a =E b´ If true, the value is "1", otherwise the value is "0".

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[0075] Moreover, equation (32) is subject to the constraints expressed by the following equations (36) and (37). On the other hand, equation (33) is subject to the constraints expressed by the following equations (36) and (38). Equation (36) expresses the constraint that the relationship expressed by equation (34) and the relationship expressed by equation (35) must hold between any process included in a previously treated experiment and any process included in an experiment of the same type as the present experiment. Equations (37) and (38) express the constraint that one device can only perform one process at a time.

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[0079] Then, the experiment planning function 102 formulates the S-LAB problem as an example of a mixed integer programming problem. In the mixed integer programming problem, an N-dimensional solution space and a utility function in the solution space are defined. The utility function is generally expressed by the following formula (39), and more specifically, by the following formula (40). Furthermore, formula (40) is expressed by the element x n and element c in the set of real constants represented by (42) n Contains:

[0080]

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[0084] The objective of the mixed integer programming problem is to maximize the utility function under the constraints expressed by the following equations (43) to (45). Also, equation (43) is a function of the element a in the set of real constants expressed by equation (46). m,n and element b in the set of real constants represented by (47) m Equation (46) and equation (47) include the total number M of devices installed in the laboratory. In addition, the total number M of devices installed in the laboratory is generally the number of linear constraints. The positive integer m included in equation (43) etc. represents the total number of types of devices installed in the laboratory. The positive integer N included in equation (44) is the total number N of processes that make up the experiment. In addition, the total number N of processes that make up the experiment is generally the total number of elements included in the non-empty subset of the index represented by equation (48). In addition, the vector represented by equation (41) satisfies the constraint of being a feasible solution.

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[0089]

number

[0090] The objective of the mixed integer programming problem is to find an optimal vector from the set of vectors expressed by equation (41), which is expressed by the following equation (48).

[0091]

number

[0092] The experimental design function 102 uses a branch and bound (BB) method to solve the mixed integer programming problem and obtain an optimal solution. The branch and bound method is a method of recursively generating subproblems of the original mixed integer programming problem P0 by repeatedly and alternately executing branch and bound operations, and removing excess space from the solution space.

[0093] First, the experimental design function 102 solves a linear relaxation problem P' of the sub-problem P. The linear relaxation problem P' is a problem obtained by removing the constraint expressed by equation (45) from the sub-problem P. Therefore, the real vector expressed by equation (41) can be any positive real number, not just a positive integer. The experimental design function 102 calculates an upper bound of the optimal utility function of the sub-problem P by solving the linear relaxation problem P'.

[0094] Next, the experimental design function 102 generates two subproblems of the subproblem P by performing a branching operation based on the upper bound of the optimal utility function of the subproblem P. If the optimal solution x' of the linear relaxation problem P' is infeasible in the subproblem P, then at least one element x of the real vector that is not a positive integer is not feasible. n Therefore, the experimental design function 102 can generate two subproblems of the subproblem P by performing a branching operation. One of these two subproblems is subject to the constraint expressed by the following equation (49). The other of these two subproblems is subject to the constraint expressed by the following equation (50). The right side of equation (49) represents the maximum integer equal to or less than the left side of equation (49). Meanwhile, the right side of equation (50) represents the minimum integer equal to or greater than the left side of equation (50).

[0095]

number

[0096]

number

[0097] Then, the experimental design function 102 performs a bounding operation to remove sub-problems that are proven not to contain an optimal solution to the mixed integer programming problem P0. Furthermore, if the optimal solution x'' of the mixed integer programming problem P0 at the time when the branching and bounding operations are repeated a predetermined number of times matches any of the following three cases, the final solution of the mixed integer programming problem P0 will not change even if further branching operations are performed on the sub-problem P:

[0098] The first case is a case where an optimal solution x' exists for the linear relaxation problem P' of the sub-problem P, and the optimal solution x' is a feasible solution for the sub-problem P, so that the solution x' becomes the optimal solution for the sub-problem P. The second case is a case where an optimal solution x' exists for the linear relaxation problem P' of the sub-problem P, but the solution x' satisfies the following formula (51). The second case can also be said to be a case where the sub-problem P is more suitable than the solution x'' and does not have a feasible solution. The third case is a case where the linear relaxation problem P' does not have a solution, so the sub-problem P does not have a solution. If any of these three cases is met, the experimental design development function 102 does not perform any further branching operations, but performs a limiting operation to generate sub-problems of the sub-problem P.

[0099]

number

[0100] The experimental design function 102 executes a process of searching for an optimal solution using a branch and bound method, monotonically decreasing the upper bound of the maximum value of the utility function of the sub-problem and monotonically increasing the lower bound of the maximum value of the utility function of the sub-problem. This allows the experimental design function 102 to more effectively execute an operation of removing unnecessary sub-problems by a limiting operation. In other words, the experimental design function 102 can efficiently find an optimal solution by limiting the part of the solution space that is the target of searching for the optimal solution.

[0101] The experimental design output function 103 outputs at least one of first solution data indicating a solution to the first mixed integer programming problem and second solution data indicating a solution to the second mixed integer programming problem. For example, the experimental design output function 103 outputs data for displaying on a display an image indicating the allocation of each piece of equipment to each process indicated by the solution found by searching using the above-mentioned method.

[0102] Next, an example of processing executed by the experimental planning device 10 will be described with reference to Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of processing executed by the experimental planning device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0103] In step S10, the data acquisition function 101 acquires experiment content data, equipment type data, available equipment data, and at least one of first utility function data and second utility function data.

[0104] In step S20, the experimental design function 102 executes at least one of a first experimental design process and a second experimental design process.

[0105] In step S30, the experimental design output function 103 acquires at least one of the first solution data and the second solution data.

[0106] Next, a first application example of the experiment planning program 100 will be described with reference to Figs. 4 to 9. Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a directed acyclic graph shown by the experiment content data according to the first application example of the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 4, the experiment according to the first application example includes a process performed by an apparatus of the apparatus type 1, a process performed by an apparatus of the apparatus type 2 after the process, and a process performed by an apparatus of the apparatus type 3. In addition, the process performed by the apparatus of the apparatus type 2 and the process performed by the apparatus of the apparatus type 3 are performed simultaneously. Furthermore, the difference between the start time of the process performed by the apparatus of the apparatus type 2 and the start time of the process performed by the apparatus of the apparatus type 3 must be within one minute.

[0107] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of an experiment shown by the experiment contents data according to the first application example of the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 shows the process numbers of the processes shown in FIG. 4, the types of equipment used in these processes, and the times required for these processes. As shown in the second line from the top of FIG. 5, the process to which the process number "1" is assigned requires the use of equipment of the equipment type 1, and takes 60 minutes to execute. As shown in the third line from the top of FIG. 5, the process to which the process number "2" is assigned requires the use of equipment of the equipment type 2, and takes 60 minutes to execute. As shown in the fourth line from the top of FIG. 5, the process to which the process number "3" is assigned requires the use of equipment of the equipment type 2, and takes 120 minutes to execute.

[0108] Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of an experiment shown by the experiment content data according to the first application example of the embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 6 shows the sequence of the processes shown in Fig. 4. The second line from the top of Fig. 6 shows that the process assigned with the process number "1" is followed by the process assigned with the process number "2". The third line from the top of Fig. 6 shows that the process assigned with the process number "1" is followed by the process assigned with the process number "3".

[0109] Fig. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of an experiment shown by the experiment content data according to the first application example of the embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 7 shows a constraint that the difference between the start time of the process assigned with the process number "2" and the start time of the process assigned with the process number "3" must be within one minute.

[0110] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of equipment indicated by available equipment data according to a first application example of an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 shows the correspondence between each process, the name of equipment available in the laboratory, and the type of equipment available in the laboratory. The second line from the top of FIG. 8 indicates that the process assigned with the process number "1" must be performed by equipment of the equipment type 1, and equipment A12 is installed in the laboratory as such equipment. The third line from the top of FIG. 8 indicates that the process assigned with the process number "2" must be performed by equipment of the equipment type 2, and equipment B12 is installed in the laboratory as such equipment. The fourth line from the top of FIG. 8 indicates that the process assigned with the process number "3" must be performed by equipment of the equipment type 3, and equipment C12 is installed in the laboratory as such equipment.

[0111] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of an experiment plan that minimizes the time required for an experiment according to the first application example of the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 shows an example of the result of the experiment plan program 100 allocating each device to each process based on the contents shown in FIG. 4 to FIG. 8. As shown in FIG. 9, the experiment plan program 100 executes the process assigned with the process number "1" in the first hour using the device A12, then executes the process assigned with the process number "2" using the device B12, and executes the process assigned with the process number "3" using the device C12. The result shown in FIG. 9 also satisfies the constraint that the difference between the start time of the process assigned with the process number "2" and the start time of the process assigned with the process number "3" must be within one minute. FIG. 9 also shows that the experiment consisting of three processes is completed in 180 minutes according to the experiment plan formulated by the experiment plan program 100.

[0112] Next, a second application example of the experiment planning program 100 will be described with reference to FIG. 10 and FIG. 11. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a directed acyclic graph shown by the experiment content data according to the second application example of the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 10, the experiment according to the second application example includes a process performed by an apparatus of the type 1 of the apparatus, a process performed by an apparatus of the type 2 of the apparatus after the process, and a process performed by an apparatus of the type 3 of the apparatus. In addition, the process performed by the apparatus of the type 2 of the apparatus and the process performed by the apparatus of the type 3 of the apparatus are simultaneously performed. Furthermore, the difference between the completion time of the process performed by the apparatus of the type 2 of the apparatus and the completion time of the process performed by the apparatus of the type 3 of the apparatus must be within one minute. In addition, in the second application example, the contents shown by the experiment content data are the same as the contents shown in FIG. 4 to FIG. 7. In addition, in the second application example, the contents shown by the available apparatus data are the same as the contents shown in FIG. 8.

[0113] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of an experiment plan that minimizes the time required for an experiment according to a second application example of an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 shows an example of the results of the experiment plan program 100 allocating each piece of equipment to each process. As shown in FIG. 11, the experiment plan program 100 executes the process assigned with process number "1" in the first hour using equipment A12, then executes the process assigned with process number "2" using equipment B12, and executes the process assigned with process number "3" using equipment C12. The results shown in FIG. 11 are also as follows: completion The process with time and process number "3" assigned completion This satisfies the constraint that the time difference must be within one minute. Also, Fig. 11 shows that the experiment consisting of three steps will be completed in 180 minutes according to the experiment plan formulated by the experiment planning program 100.

[0114] Next, a third application example of the experiment planning program 100 will be described with reference to Fig. 12 to Fig. 17. Fig. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a directed acyclic graph shown by the experiment content data according to the third application example of the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 12, the experiment according to the third application example includes one process performed by an instrument of instrument type 1, three processes performed by an instrument of instrument type 2, one process performed by an instrument of instrument type 3, and two processes performed by an instrument of instrument type 4. Moreover, the rectangles with diagonal hatching shown in Fig. 12 indicate processes in which samples are moved by instruments or researchers.

[0115] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of an experiment shown by the experiment contents data according to the third application example of the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 shows the process numbers of the processes shown in FIG. 12, the types of equipment used in these processes, and the times required for these processes. As shown in the second line from the top of FIG. 13, the process to which the process number "1" is assigned requires the use of equipment of the equipment type 5, and takes 2 minutes to execute. As shown in the third line from the top of FIG. 13, the process to which the process number "2" is assigned requires the use of equipment of the equipment type 2, and takes 12 minutes to execute. As shown in the fourth line from the top of FIG. 13, the process to which the process number "3" is assigned requires the use of equipment of the equipment type 5, and takes 3 minutes to execute. The same is true for the fifth line from the top of FIG. 13 and onwards.

[0116] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of an experiment shown by the experiment contents data according to the third application example of the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 14 shows the sequence of the steps shown in FIG. 12. The second line from the top of FIG. 14 shows that a step assigned with step number "1" is followed by a step assigned with step number "2". The third line from the top of FIG. 14 shows that a step assigned with step number "3" is followed by a step assigned with step number "4". The fourth line from the top of FIG. 14 shows that a step assigned with step number "5" is followed by a step assigned with step number "6". The same is true for the fifth line from the top of FIG. 14 onwards.

[0117] FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of an experiment shown by the experiment contents data according to the third application example of the embodiment of the present invention. The second line from the top of FIG. 15 shows a constraint that the difference between the completion time of a process assigned with the process number "2" and the start time of a process assigned with the process number "9" must be within 10 minutes. The third line from the top of FIG. 15 shows a constraint that the difference between the completion time of a process assigned with the process number "4" and the start time of a process assigned with the process number "9" must be within 10 minutes. The fourth line from the top of FIG. 15 shows a constraint that the difference between the completion time of a process assigned with the process number "4" and the start time of a process assigned with the process number "12" must be within 10 minutes. The fifth line from the top of FIG. 15 and subsequent lines are similar to these.

[0118] FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of equipment indicated by available equipment data according to a third application example of the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 16 shows the correspondence between each process, the name of equipment available in the laboratory, and the type of equipment available in the laboratory. The second line from the top of FIG. 16 indicates that the process assigned with the process number "1" needs to be performed by equipment of the equipment type 1, and equipment A3 is installed in the laboratory as such equipment. The third line from the top of FIG. 16 indicates that the process assigned with the process number "2" needs to be performed by equipment of the equipment type 2, and equipment B3 is installed in the laboratory as such equipment. The fourth line from the top of FIG. 16 indicates that the process assigned with the process number "3" needs to be performed by equipment of the equipment type 3, and equipment C3 is installed in the laboratory as such equipment. The fifth line from the top of FIG. 16 and subsequent lines are similar to these.

[0119] Fig. 17 is a diagram showing an example of an experiment plan for minimizing the time required for an experiment according to the third application example of the embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 17 shows an example of the result of the experiment plan program 100 allocating each device to each process based on the contents shown in Fig. 12 to Fig. 16. Fig. 17 also shows that an experiment consisting of three processes is completed in 87 minutes according to the experiment plan formulated by the experiment plan program 100.

[0120] Next, a fourth application example of the experiment planning program 100 will be described with reference to Fig. 18 to Fig. 23. Fig. 18 is a diagram showing an example of a directed acyclic graph indicated by the experiment content data according to the fourth application example of the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 18, the experiment according to the fourth application example includes a process executed by equipment of equipment type 1.

[0121] Fig. 19 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of an experiment shown by the experiment content data according to the fourth application example of the embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 19 shows the process numbers of the processes shown in Fig. 18, the types of equipment used in these processes, and the time required for these processes. As shown in the second line from the top of Fig. 19, the process assigned with process number "1" requires the use of equipment of type 1, and takes 425 minutes to execute.

[0122] Fig. 20 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of an experiment shown by the experiment content data according to the fourth application example of the embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 20 shows the context of the processes shown in Fig. 18. The second line from the top of Fig. 18 shows "none" because only one process is shown in Fig. 18 and there is no need to consider the context of the process.

[0123] Fig. 21 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of an experiment shown by the experiment content data according to the fourth application example of the embodiment of the present invention. The second line from the top of Fig. 21 shows "none" because only one process is shown in Fig. 18 and there is no need to consider the sequence of the processes.

[0124] Fig. 22 is a diagram showing an example of equipment indicated by available equipment data according to a fourth application example of an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 22 shows the correspondence between each process, the name of equipment available in the laboratory, and the type of equipment available in the laboratory. The second line from the top of Fig. 22 shows that the process assigned with the process number "1" needs to be performed by equipment of equipment type 1, and equipment A4 is installed in the laboratory as such equipment. The third line from the top of Fig. 22 shows that the process assigned with the process number "2" needs to be performed by equipment of equipment type 2, and equipment B4 is installed in the laboratory as such equipment.

[0125] Fig. 23 is a diagram showing an example of an experiment plan that minimizes the time required to complete three experiments shown by the directed acyclic graph shown in Fig. 21. Fig. 23 shows an example of the result of the experiment plan program 100 allocating each device to each process based on the contents shown in Fig. 18 to Fig. 22. Fig. 23 also shows that an experiment consisting of three processes can be completed in 851 minutes according to the experiment plan formulated by the experiment plan program 100.

[0126] Next, a fifth application example of the experimental planning program 100 will be described with reference to Fig. 24 to Fig. 30. Fig. 24 is a diagram showing an example of a directed acyclic graph shown by the experiment content data according to the fifth application example of the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 24, the experiment according to the fifth application example includes two steps performed by an instrument of instrument type 1, one step performed by an instrument of instrument type 2, one step performed by an instrument of instrument type 3, and three steps performed by an instrument of instrument type 4. In addition, the three steps performed by an instrument of instrument type 4 indicate steps of moving a sample by an instrument or a researcher.

[0127] FIG. 25 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of an experiment shown by the experiment contents data according to the fifth application example of the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 25 shows the process numbers of the processes shown in FIG. 24, the types of equipment used in these processes, and the times required for these processes. As shown in the second line from the top of FIG. 25, the process to which the process number "1" is assigned requires the use of equipment of the equipment type 1, and takes 135 minutes to execute. As shown in the third line from the top of FIG. 25, the process to which the process number "2" is assigned requires the use of equipment of the equipment type 4, and takes 5 minutes to execute. As shown in the fourth line from the top of FIG. 25, the process to which the process number "3" is assigned requires the use of equipment of the equipment type 2, and takes 60 minutes to execute. The same is true for the fifth line from the top of FIG. 25 and onwards.

[0128] FIG. 26 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of an experiment shown by the experiment contents data according to the fifth application example of the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 26 shows the sequence of the steps shown in FIG. 24. The second line from the top of FIG. 26 shows that a step assigned with the step number "1" is followed by a step assigned with the step number "2". The third line from the top of FIG. 26 shows that a step assigned with the step number "2" is followed by a step assigned with the step number "3". The fourth line from the top of FIG. 26 shows that a step assigned with the step number "3" is followed by a step assigned with the step number "4". The same is true for the fifth line from the top of FIG. 26 onwards.

[0129] Fig. 27 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of an experiment shown by the experiment content data according to the fifth application example of the embodiment of the present invention. The second line from the top of Fig. 27 shows a constraint that the difference between the completion time of the process assigned with the process number "1" and the start time of the process assigned with the process number "3" must be within 10 minutes. The third line from the top of Fig. 27 shows a constraint that the difference between the completion time of the process assigned with the process number "3" and the start time of the process assigned with the process number "5" must be within 10 minutes.

[0130] FIG. 28 is a diagram showing an example of equipment indicated by available equipment data according to the fifth application example of the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 28 shows the correspondence between each process, the name of equipment available in the laboratory, and the type of equipment available in the laboratory. The second line from the top of FIG. 28 shows that the process assigned with the process number "1" needs to be performed by equipment of the equipment type 1, and equipment A3 is installed in the laboratory as such equipment. The third line from the top of FIG. 28 shows that the process assigned with the process number "2" needs to be performed by equipment of the equipment type 1, and equipment B3 is installed in the laboratory as such equipment. The fourth line from the top of FIG. 28 shows that the process assigned with the process number "3" needs to be performed by equipment of the equipment type 2, and equipment C3 is installed in the laboratory as such equipment. The fifth line from the top of FIG. 28 and subsequent lines are similar to these.

[0131] Fig. 29 is a diagram showing an example of an experiment plan that minimizes the time required to complete three experiments shown by the directed acyclic graph shown in Fig. 27 when these three experiments are carried out as simultaneously as possible. Fig. 29 shows an example of the result of the experiment plan program 100 allocating each device to each process based on the contents shown in Fig. 24 to Fig. 28. Fig. 29 also shows that the experiment plan formulated by the experiment plan program 100 completes an experiment consisting of three processes in 576 minutes.

[0132] Fig. 30 is a diagram showing an example of an experiment plan that minimizes the time required to complete three experiments shown by the directed acyclic graph shown in Fig. 27 when the three experiments are carried out as separately as possible. Fig. 30 shows an example of the result of the experiment plan program 100 allocating each device to each process based on the contents shown in Fig. 24 to Fig. 28. Fig. 30 also shows that the experiment plan formulated by the experiment plan program 100 completes the experiment consisting of three processes in 765 minutes.

[0133] Next, a sixth application example of the experiment planning program 100 will be described with reference to Fig. 31 to Fig. 39. Fig. 31 is a diagram showing an example of a directed acyclic graph shown by the experiment content data according to the sixth application example of the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 31, the experiment according to the sixth application example includes a process performed by an apparatus of apparatus type 1, a process performed by an apparatus of apparatus type 2, a process performed by an apparatus of apparatus type 3, a process performed by an apparatus of apparatus type 4, and a process performed by an apparatus of apparatus type 5.

[0134] FIG. 32 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of an experiment shown by the experiment contents data according to the sixth application example of the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 32 shows the process numbers of the processes shown in FIG. 31, the types of equipment used in these processes, and the times required for these processes. As shown in the second line from the top of FIG. 32, the process to which the process number "1" is assigned requires the use of equipment of the equipment type 1, and takes 5 minutes to execute. As shown in the third line from the top of FIG. 32, the process to which the process number "2" is assigned requires the use of equipment of the equipment type 2, and takes 10 minutes to execute. As shown in the fourth line from the top of FIG. 32, the process to which the process number "3" is assigned requires the use of equipment of the equipment type 3, and takes 60 minutes to execute. The same is true for the fifth line from the top of FIG. 32 and onwards.

[0135] Fig. 33 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of an experiment shown by the experiment content data according to the sixth application example of the embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 33 shows the sequence of the processes shown in Fig. 31. The second line from the top of Fig. 33 shows that a process assigned with process number "2" follows a process assigned with process number "1". The third line from the top of Fig. 33 shows that a process assigned with process number "2" follows a process assigned with process number "3". The fourth line from the top of Fig. 33 shows that a process assigned with process number "3" follows a process assigned with process number "4".

[0136] FIG. 34 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of an experiment shown by the experiment contents data according to the sixth application example of the embodiment of the present invention. The second line from the top of FIG. 34 shows a constraint that the difference between the completion time of a process assigned with the process number "1" and the start time of a process assigned with the process number "2" must be within 10 minutes. The third line from the top of FIG. 34 shows a constraint that the difference between the completion time of a process assigned with the process number "2" and the start time of a process assigned with the process number "3" must be within 10 minutes. The fourth line from the top of FIG. 34 shows a constraint that the difference between the completion time of a process assigned with the process number "3" and the start time of a process assigned with the process number "4" must be within 10 minutes. The fifth line from the top of FIG. 34 shows a constraint that the difference between the completion time of a process assigned with the process number "4" and the start time of a process assigned with the process number "5" must be within 10 minutes.

[0137] FIG. 35 is a diagram showing an example of equipment indicated by available equipment data according to a sixth application example of an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 35 shows the correspondence between each process, the name of equipment available in the laboratory, and the type of equipment available in the laboratory. The second line from the top of FIG. 35 shows that the process assigned with the process number "1" needs to be performed by equipment of the equipment type 1, and the first equipment A6 is installed in the laboratory as such equipment. The third line from the top of FIG. 35 shows that the process assigned with the process number "2" needs to be performed by equipment of the equipment type 2, and the second equipment B6 is installed in the laboratory as such equipment.

[0138] The fourth line from the top of FIG. 35 indicates that a process assigned with process number "3" must be performed by equipment of equipment type 3, and that a third device C61 is installed in the laboratory as such equipment. The fifth line from the top of FIG. 35 indicates that a process assigned with process number "4" must be performed by equipment of equipment type 3, and that a third device C62 is installed in the laboratory as such equipment. The sixth line from the top of FIG. 35 indicates that a process assigned with process number "5" must be performed by equipment of equipment type 3, and that a third device C63 is installed in the laboratory as such equipment. The seventh line from the top of FIG. 35 indicates that a process assigned with process number "6" must be performed by equipment of equipment type 3, and that a third device C64 is installed in the laboratory as such equipment.

[0139] The eighth line from the top of Fig. 35 indicates that the process assigned process number "7" must be performed by equipment of equipment type 4, and that the fourth equipment D6 is installed in the laboratory as such an equipment. The ninth line from the top of Fig. 35 indicates that the process assigned process number "8" must be performed by equipment of equipment type 5, and that the fifth equipment E6 is installed in the laboratory as such an equipment.

[0140] Fig. 36 is a diagram showing an example of an experiment plan that minimizes the time required to complete an experiment shown by the directed acyclic graph shown in Fig. 31 when one unit of the third device shown in Fig. 35 is used to carry out the experiment. Fig. 36 shows an example of the result of the experiment plan program 100 allocating each device to each process based on the contents shown in Figs. 31 to 35. Fig. 36 also shows that the experiment plan formulated by the experiment plan program 100 results in the completion of the experiment in 122 minutes.

[0141] Fig. 37 is a diagram showing an example of an experiment plan that minimizes the time required to complete an experiment shown by the directed acyclic graph shown in Fig. 31 when two units of the third device shown in Fig. 35 are used to carry out the experiment. Fig. 37 shows an example of the result of the experiment plan program 100 allocating each device to each process based on the contents shown in Figs. 31 to 35. Fig. 37 also shows that the experiment plan formulated by the experiment plan program 100 results in the experiment being completed in 91 minutes.

[0142] Fig. 38 is a diagram showing an example of an experiment plan that minimizes the time required to complete an experiment shown by the directed acyclic graph shown in Fig. 31 when three units of the third device shown in Fig. 35 are used to carry out the experiment. Fig. 38 shows an example of the result of the experiment plan program 100 allocating each device to each process based on the contents shown in Figs. 31 to 35. Fig. 38 also shows that the experiment plan formulated by the experiment plan program 100 will be completed in 82 minutes.

[0143] Fig. 39 is a diagram showing an example of an experiment plan that minimizes the time required to complete an experiment shown by the directed acyclic graph shown in Fig. 31 when four units of the third device shown in Fig. 35 are used to carry out the experiment. Fig. 39 shows an example of the result of the experiment plan program 100 allocating each device to each process based on the contents shown in Figs. 31 to 35. Fig. 39 also shows that the experiment plan formulated by the experiment plan program 100 will be completed in 82 minutes.

[0144] Furthermore, from Figures 36 to 39, it can be seen that although the time required for the experiment decreases when the number of third devices is increased from one to three, the time required for the experiment does not decrease when the number of third devices is increased from three to four.

[0145] The experimental planning device 10 according to the embodiment has been described above. The experimental planning device 10 acquires experiment content data, equipment type data, available equipment data, and at least one of first utility function data and second utility function data. Then, the experimental planning device 10 executes at least one of a first experimental planning process and a second experimental planning process.

[0146] The first experimental planning process is a process of formulating, as a first mixed integer programming problem, a problem of determining available equipment data that minimizes the time required for an experiment under the assumption that an equipment indicated by one piece of available equipment data is used in each process that constitutes an experiment, and solving the first mixed integer programming problem by applying a branch-and-bound method based on a second utility function. The second experimental planning process is a process of formulating, as a second mixed integer programming problem, a problem of determining equipment type data that minimizes the time required for an experiment under the assumption that an equipment indicated by one piece of available equipment data is available in a laboratory, and solving the second mixed integer programming problem by applying a branch-and-bound method based on the first utility function.

[0147] As a result, the experimental planning device 10 can formulate an experimental plan that minimizes the time required for an experiment in a laboratory where laboratory automation is applied.

[0148] The experimental planning device 10 also acquires experiment content data indicating the content of an experiment including at least two steps that are executed simultaneously and have a predetermined condition imposed on at least one of the difference between the start times and the difference between the completion times. Then, the experimental planning device 10 executes at least one of a first experimental planning process and a second experimental planning process. This allows the experimental planning device 10 to formulate an experimental plan that is executed simultaneously and satisfies a predetermined condition imposed on at least one of the difference between the start times and the difference between the completion times, while minimizing the time required for the experiment.

[0149] The experimental planning device 10 also acquires experimental content data that defines the context of each step that constitutes the experiment. This allows the experimental planning device 10 to create an experimental plan that maintains the context of each step that constitutes the experiment.

[0150] In the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which the processor 11 reads and executes the experimental planning program 100 to realize the data acquisition function 101, the experimental planning function 102, and the experimental planning output function 103 shown in FIG. 2, but the present invention is not limited to this.

[0151] At least a part of the data acquisition function 101, the experimental design development function 102, and the experimental design output function 103 shown in Fig. 2 may be realized by hardware including a circuitry such as an LSI (Large Scale Integration), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit). Alternatively, at least a part of the data acquisition function 101, the experimental design development function 102, and the experimental design output function 103 shown in Fig. 2 may be realized by cooperation between software and hardware. Furthermore, these pieces of hardware may be integrated into one, or may be divided into multiple pieces.

[0152] The embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the drawings. However, the experimental planning program, experimental planning device, and experimental planning method are not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications, substitutions, combinations, and / or design changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0153] The effects of the above-described embodiments of the present invention are merely examples. Therefore, the embodiments of the present invention may have other effects that a person skilled in the art can recognize from the description of the above-described embodiments in addition to the above-described effects. [Explanation of symbols]

[0154] 10...experimental planning device, 11...processor, 12...main memory device, 13...communication interface, 14...auxiliary memory device, 15...input / output device, 16...bus, 100...experimental planning program, 101...data acquisition function, 102...experimental planning function, 103...experimental planning output function

Claims

1. A data acquisition function for acquiring experiment content data regarding at least two processes executed simultaneously in an experiment conducted in a laboratory, the data including equipment type data indicating the type of equipment used in each process constituting the experiment, process required time data indicating the time required for each process, and time difference constraint condition data indicating a time difference constraint condition of either the difference between the start times of the at least two processes, the difference between the completion times, or the difference between the start time and completion time, at least one available equipment data indicating equipment that can be used for the experiment in the laboratory, and data indicating a utility function which is a function showing the utility of the time required for the experiment when the equipment type and equipment available in the laboratory are combined, given the equipment type data associated with each process; an experiment planning function that executes an experiment planning process, which solves a mixed integer programming problem based on the utility function to determine the equipment type data that satisfies the constraint condition indicated by the time difference constraint condition data and minimizes the time required for the experiment, on the assumption that the equipment indicated by the available equipment data is available in the laboratory; An experiment design output function that outputs solution data indicating a solution to the mixed integer programming problem; An experimental planning program that enables computers to carry out the above steps.

2. A data acquisition function for acquiring experiment content data regarding at least two processes executed simultaneously in an experiment conducted in a laboratory, the data including equipment type data indicating the type of equipment used in each process constituting the experiment, process required time data indicating the time required for each process, and time difference constraint condition data indicating a time difference constraint condition of either the difference between the start times of the at least two processes, the difference between the completion times, or the difference between the completion time and the start time, at least one available equipment data indicating equipment that can be used for the experiment in the laboratory, and data indicating a utility function which is a function showing the utility of the time required for the experiment when the equipment type and equipment available in the laboratory are combined, given the available equipment data associated with the laboratory; an experiment planning function that executes an experiment planning process, which solves a mixed integer programming problem based on the utility function to determine the available equipment data that satisfies the constraint conditions indicated by the time difference constraint data and minimizes the time required for the experiment, on the assumption that the equipment indicated by the equipment type data is used in each process constituting the experiment; An experiment design output function that outputs solution data indicating a solution to the mixed integer programming problem; An experimental planning program that enables computers to carry out the above steps.

3. The data acquisition function acquires the experiment content data that defines the sequence of each step constituting the experiment. The experimental planning program according to claim 1 or 2.

4. A data acquisition unit for acquiring experiment content data regarding at least two processes executed simultaneously in an experiment conducted in a laboratory, the data including equipment type data indicating the type of equipment used in each process constituting the experiment, process required time data indicating the time required for each process, and time difference constraint condition data indicating a time difference constraint condition of either the difference between the start times of the at least two processes, the difference between the completion times, or the difference between the completion time and the start time, at least one available equipment data indicating equipment that can be used for the experiment in the laboratory, and data indicating a utility function which is a function showing the utility of the time required for the experiment when the equipment type and equipment available in the laboratory are combined, given the equipment type data associated with each process; an experiment planning unit that executes an experiment planning process, which solves a mixed integer programming problem based on the utility function to determine the equipment type data that satisfies the constraint condition indicated by the time difference constraint data and minimizes the time required for the experiment, on the assumption that the equipment indicated by the available equipment data is available in the laboratory; an experiment planning output unit that outputs solution data indicating a solution to the mixed integer programming problem; An experimental design device comprising:

5. A data acquisition unit for acquiring experiment content data regarding at least two processes executed simultaneously in an experiment conducted in a laboratory, the experiment content data including equipment type data indicating the type of equipment used in each process constituting the experiment, process required time data indicating the time required for each process, and time difference constraint condition data indicating a time difference constraint condition of either the difference between the start times of the at least two processes, the difference between the completion times, or the difference between the completion time and the start time, at least one available equipment data indicating equipment that can be used for the experiment in the laboratory, and data indicating a utility function which is a function showing the utility of the time required for the experiment when the equipment type and equipment available in the laboratory are combined, given the available equipment data associated with the laboratory; an experiment planning unit that executes an experiment planning process, which solves a mixed integer programming problem based on the utility function to determine the available equipment data that satisfies the constraint condition indicated by the time difference constraint data and minimizes the time required for the experiment, on the assumption that the equipment indicated by the equipment type data is used in each process constituting the experiment; an experiment planning output unit that outputs solution data indicating a solution to the mixed integer programming problem; An experimental design device comprising:

6. A computer-implemented experimental design method, comprising: acquire, by a data acquisition unit or a data acquisition function, experiment content data, the data being about at least two processes executed simultaneously in an experiment conducted in a laboratory, the experiment content data including equipment type data indicating the type of equipment used in each process constituting the experiment, process required time data indicating the time required for each process, and time difference constraint condition data indicating a constraint condition on a time difference between the start times of the at least two processes, the difference between the completion times, or the difference between the completion time and the start time, at least one available equipment data indicating equipment that can be used for the experiment in the laboratory, and data indicating a utility function, which is a function that indicates the time required for the experiment as a utility when the equipment type and the equipment that can be used in the laboratory are combined, with the equipment type data associated with each process as a given condition, an experiment planning process is executed by an experiment planning unit or an experiment planning function, in which a mixed integer programming problem is solved based on the utility function to determine the equipment type data that satisfies the constraint condition indicated by the time difference constraint condition data and minimizes the time required for the experiment, under the assumption that the equipment indicated by the available equipment data is available in the laboratory; outputting solution data indicating a solution to the mixed integer programming problem by an experiment planning output unit or an experiment planning output function; Experimental design methods.

7. A computer implemented experimental design method, comprising: acquire, by a data acquisition unit or a data acquisition function, experiment content data including data on at least two processes executed simultaneously in an experiment conducted in a laboratory, equipment type data indicating the type of equipment used in each process constituting the experiment, process required time data indicating the time required for each process, and time difference constraint condition data indicating a constraint condition on a time difference between the start times of the at least two processes, the difference between the completion times, or the difference between the completion time and the start time, at least one available equipment data indicating equipment that can be used for the experiment in the laboratory, and data indicating a utility function that is a function indicating the time required for the experiment as a utility when the equipment type and equipment that can be used in the laboratory are combined, using the available equipment data associated with the laboratory as a given condition, an experiment planning process is executed by an experiment planning unit or an experiment planning function, the experiment planning process solving, based on the utility function, a mixed integer programming problem that determines the available equipment data that satisfies the constraint condition indicated by the time difference constraint condition data and minimizes the time required for the experiment, under the assumption that the equipment indicated by the equipment type data is used in each process constituting the experiment; outputting solution data indicating a solution to the mixed integer programming problem by an experiment planning output unit or an experiment planning output function; Experimental design methods.

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