Autonomous Lab Robot With Interchangeable End Effectors
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional laboratory automation systems face challenges in accurately and consistently performing manual and automated processes due to the reliance on automation-ready devices, which limits their ability to handle non-automation friendly equipment and lacks data capture for experiment tracking, leading to potential discrepancies in experiment quality and efficiency.
Innovation Solution
The introduction of auto-navigating robotic processing vehicles equipped with interchangeable end effectors and autonomous navigation, capable of interacting with both automation-friendly and non-automation-friendly devices, along with scheduling software to manage human-robot collaboration, ensuring data capture and process consistency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If conventional automation systems use fixed automation-ready devices, then device complexity is reduced, but adaptability to different equipment types deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic system employs dynamically interchangeable end effectors that can be swapped based on the specific equipment being operated. This allows the base robot to remain simple while the end effectors provide the necessary adaptability for different devices, resolving the contradiction between system simplicity and equipment compatibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The robotic platform is designed as a universal system that can interface with multiple types of laboratory equipment through standardized mounting interfaces and programmable control. The end effectors are designed to be universally applicable across different device types while maintaining compatibility with both automation-friendly and non-automation-friendly equipment.
2Adaptability or versatility
If manual processes are performed by human operators, then adaptability to non-automation friendly equipment is improved, but productivity and consistency deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic system autonomously navigates to processing stations, identifies target devices, and executes operations without continuous human intervention. The system self-manages the workflow between different equipment types, maintaining high productivity while handling diverse equipment through programmable adaptability rather than manual operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The robotic end effectors serve as intermediaries between the automated robot controller and non-automation-friendly equipment. These effectors provide the necessary mechanical interfaces and control adaptations to enable automated operation of equipment that was originally designed for manual use, thereby increasing productivity without sacrificing handling capability.
3Device complexity
If data capture is not implemented, then device complexity is reduced, but measurement precision and experiment tracking deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic system incorporates data capture and logging capabilities that record experimental parameters, operations performed, and results obtained. This feedback mechanism ensures accurate tracking of experiment progression and enables precise measurement of process variables, improving experiment data accuracy while maintaining manageable system architecture through integrated software solutions.
Data Source
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AI summary
An auto-navigating robotic processing vehicle including a carriage having a frame, an autonomous drive section configured to traverse the carriage effecting vehicle travel on a facility floor, and having an autonomous navigation section to effect autonomous navigation vehicle travel, a processing section with different processing modules connected to and carried by the frame, each of the different processing modules having a different predetermined laboratory processing function with a different predetermined function characteristic corresponding to the processing module and being automatically selectable to effect a preprocess or preprocess condition of laboratory samples and/or sample holders with respect to a process at a processing station, and a controller automatically selects at least one processing module and the corresponding predetermined function of the selected processing module effecting automatically the preprocess or preprocess condition based on an identification of a travel location for the vehicle and the process of the at the processing station.