I would like to propose a discussion on the automation of laboratory work. Some devices analytical instruments (e.g. chromatographs, spectrometers) come equipped with autosamplers - these solutions have been used for several dozens of years, and recently even automated/robotized solutions for mechanical analysis (tensile/flexural measurements) are proposed on the market. Currently (for about 3-5 years now), we observe a progressive, intensive automation in the field of chemical synthesis, mainly when it comes to screening reactions, especially in the area of substances of pharmacological importance. However, it seems that the real revolution has not yet come. It turns out that laboratory tests (chemistry, material research) are still conservative and focus heavily on human labour/manual work. Is this the right approach?
Of course, the arguments about an individual approach and human creativity are correct, but for many areas related to data analysis (especially big data), the efficiency of a human being becomes insufficient. When analysing the work of the laboratory I manage, I start to wonder about the effectiveness of the classic approach. Most of the devices do not work at night, at weekends, holidays, vacation breaks; they are offline during such times. Often, human work in the laboratory is a routine requiring tedious and repetitive activities done - weighing, cutting, sample preparation, dosing, measuring, etc. These are the areas that can and should be automated.
Robotization of the research process requires different competences than those of current employees. There is need for programmers, automation engineers, process engineers. Finally, it requires financial outlays. However, the benefit can be huge. The increase in the efficiency of research processes can be up to thousands of percent. Finally, robotization is necessary to generate big data, and therefore to use artificial intelligence in screening. I think that chemistry, and especially materials science, will soon face a challenge in high throughput research.
Robotization will meet opposition and resistance. Workers will feel threatened, as their position will be in danger. However, as with the invention of the steam engine or electricity, resistance must be replaced with CHANGE. if we do not take advantage of the opportunity for science, offered by robotization, we will be left behind the progress and others will benefit from it. Moreover, with growing fields of research, such as materials science, the number of ideas to verify and systems/solutions to screen grows exponentially. This results in the specialists of the field either falling behind, not being able to be up to date with the research topics, or their research is done not thoroughly, as they cut corners to save time and effort. Robotization and automation will solve this problem, as it will allow for high throughput research and big data generation and analysis.
Feel free to discuss.
Dear Robert Przekop,
Yes, the automation and robotization of laboratory work can facilitate and facilitate the development of this type of research work. The dynamic technological progress currently taking place, including the development of information technologies ICT and Industry 4.0, including artificial intelligence technology, machine learning, robotization, Big Data Analytics, etc., and the increase in the use of these technologies in various analytical works is an important factor in the development of science and solving key problems of civilization.
Best regards,
Dariusz Prokopowicz
the automatization with humanoid robots will come. some countries will try to avoid it, but they will be weeded out by the progress. people like merkel, obama etc. tried to install a global planning, communistic economy, but, fortunately, it failed and a once florishing society Germany will have to struggle with the merkel-idiotism the next 100 years. countries like japan, south korea, india, usa etc will simply do it.
Dear Robert E. Przekop
There is, so it is said, a coming wave of automation, with effects on everything from cancer surgery, to hotel concierge services to self-driving cars. As this most recent story about 550 job-losses through automating financial advice at RBS demonstrates, these issues are now more consistently hitting mainstream media thanks to their tangible real-world effects on people and institutions. This puts automatizing work in science and engineering in a much broader context, and leads me to the question: is everyone talking about the same thing when they talk about the rise in robotics and laboratory automation?
This was the backdrop to my participation at a recent synthetic biology workshop, ‘Automation and Robotics for synthetic biology’. I went with the intention of finding out what automation meant to different people, what they were most excited about, and the problems they believed automation solved. Perhaps surprisingly, researcher-led in-house lab automation (within Universities) was seen as ‘old school’ in the opening presentation. Subsequent speakers, in contrast, envisioned the deployment of robots in every lab and focused on the challenge of changing the culture of scientists as labs shift to a new paradigm of automated laboratory practice. A move towards Cloud-based and out-sourced lab services was presented as the coming trend in synthetic biology. Most of the workshop participants agreed that the future of biological research and engineering would be more automated, even if the scale, speed and location of those changes were yet to be decided.
Kind Regards
Qamar Ul Islam
Some automation in chemistry lab make use of something called 'continuous flow', where the reagents are pumped constantly through a series of tubes and chemicals are then added at different points. It's all about creating the best possible conditions in the easiest way possible. https://www.radleys.com/blog/the-rise-of-automation-in-chemistry/
Laboratory robotics is the act of using robots in biology or chemistry labs. For example, pharmaceutical companies employ robots to move biological or chemical samples around to synthesize novel chemical entities or to test pharmaceutical value of existing chemical matter. Advanced laboratory robotics can be used to completely automate the process of science, as in the Robot Scientist project https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laboratory_robotics
Use of robots is a technology still in the making and it will solve several challenges that technicians face in day to day activities at work.
Hi. The autosampler in any instrument used only for very large number of sampled like in big hospitals, big factories, big companies like bog pharmaceutical companies of very large number of products.
I would like to extend this discussion. Humanoid robots are the first thing that comes to mind when it comes to robotization. However, the coming wave of automation will change the perception of this. Please note that the instruments used in laboratories are adapted to human requirements, ergonomics, arm range, height. Future laboratories will not need these adjustments. There will be no need for buttons, switches, keyboards, monitors, indicators, stands, chairs, desks, cabinets, tripods, etc., moreover, there will be no need for lighting. An automated laboratory based on artificial intelligence resembled a technological line. From substrates to product analytics. There will be no safety restrictions e.g. poisons, carcinogens etc, ventilation restrictions will disappear. Another issue is performance. By comparing the capabilities of high-performance devices combined in a technological sequence with the work of a human team, we can achieve efficiency 100 times or higher. Errors and mistakes will also be reduced. I am curious about your opinions about the possibilities, challenges, challenges in robotization and research automation in your fields of science and technology ...
Of course robotization and automation will solve many problems that we meet in our daily life (research, industry, laboratories, home, etc). But it is very hard to evaluate the latest inferences from the process of robotization and automation. For example, we can unlearn to do something because of robotization and automation.
Best regards
Suleyman Nokerov
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