AI Robotic Lab Arm Navigation for Multi-Workstation Automation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Laboratory work requires precision and speed, but existing systems are limited by manual labor, inefficient use of space, and cumbersome processes, especially in bio-labs where multiple tasks demand significant floor space and human intervention.
Innovation Solution
An AI-driven robotic system with a stand-alone robotic arm that navigates unoccupied lab space, utilizing visual assistance and machine learning to perform tasks at multiple workstations, optimizing path planning and interaction with functional objects.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual labor is used for laboratory tasks, then flexibility and adaptability are maintained, but productivity and process efficiency are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic arm system performs laboratory tasks autonomously without human intervention. The visual assistance system independently identifies workstations and functional objects, plans paths, and executes tasks, enabling the system to serve itself and eliminating the need for manual labor while dramatically improving productivity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical operations with an automated robotic arm system controlled by visual assistance and path planning algorithms. The robotic arm substitutes human hands for manipulating functional objects, while computer vision and machine learning algorithms replace human decision-making for task selection and navigation
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple workstations are arranged to perform different bio lab tasks, then task diversity and versatility are improved, but floor space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic arm system is designed to perform multiple different bio lab tasks across various workstations including tissue processing, cell enrichment, cell activation, cell proliferation, cell purification, and cell cryopreservation. A single robotic arm with visual assistance capabilities serves all these diverse functions, eliminating the need for separate automated systems for each task and reducing overall space requirements
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from horizontal expansion of multiple dedicated workstations to a vertical integration model where a single robotic arm operates across multiple workstations in three-dimensional space. The unoccupied lab floor space allows the robotic arm to move freely between workstations, utilizing vertical and depth dimensions rather than only horizontal spread
3Area of stationary object
If a stand-alone robotic arm navigates unoccupied lab space, then space utilization is optimized, but navigation complexity and path planning difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The visual assistance system acts as an intermediary between the robotic arm and the complex lab environment. It processes visual information from cameras and sensors, identifies workstations and functional objects, and translates this information into simplified path planning data, mediating the complexity between navigation and environment understanding
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-identifying workstations and functional objects using visual assistance before the robotic arm begins navigation. Path planning is prepared in advance based on pre-acquired spatial information, allowing the robotic arm to execute pre-calculated paths rather than making real-time decisions during movement, thus reducing navigation complexity
4Measurement precision
If visual assistance is used to assist positioning at workstations, then positioning precision is improved, but system complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The visual assistance system creates visual copies or digital representations of the physical lab environment, workstations, and functional objects. By working with these visual copies through computer vision algorithms, the system achieves precise positioning without requiring complex physical measurement devices at each workstation, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining high precision
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a system that comprises a lab space housing multiple workstations comprising at least two workstations each performing a different type of bio lab task from another. The lab space can have a lab floor space comprising an occupied lab floor space on which the multiple workstations are occupied, and an unoccupied lab floor space on which a stand-alone robotic arm moves through.