Robotic implementation

There is little to conclude at present. Robotics is an infant engineering discipline and yet the manufacturing aspect of robotic implementation is far ahead of any laboratory application. Today s robots are reprogrammable automation, they are far from being cybernauts and are hardly "clever" but their potential as an "arm" for artificial intelligence experiments cannot be overlooked. 

Robotic Implementation of Assays Tissue-Nonspecific Alkaline Phosphatase (TNAP) Case Study... 

The overall process and critical activities for robotic implementation of automated HTS from intake of the researcher s benchtop assay through to the identification of a validated, optimized lead series of compounds around a bona fide chemical scaffold are shown in Fig. 2. The downstream steps of hit confirmation/ validation and structure-activity relationship (SAR) elucidation and hit to lead (HTL) have been included to emphasize that the same robotic assay used for production HTS can and should be used by the HTS team to perform high-volume hit confirmation and first-line automated dose-response analysis of confirmed hits to obtain quantitative potency (IC50) rankings to elucidate the nascent SAR of emergent hit series... 

Implemented by robot teams, their algorithm has the robots move about a fenced-in environment that is randomly littered with objects that can be scooped up. These robots (1) move randomly, (2) do not communicate with each other, (3) can perceive only those objects directly in front of them (but can distinguish between two or more types of objects with some degree of error), and (4) do not obey any centralized control. The probability that a robot picks up or puts down an object is a function of the number of the same objects that it has encountered in the past. 

The most recent extension of instrument automation has come with the availability of practical laboratory robotics systems. These systems can be as easy to implement as the personal computer data system and extend automation beyond control, data collection and... 

The provision of these office automation tools to the scientist must be done in a way which integrates the office activities with the lab activities. Global planning must be done for the implementation of a comprehensive system which includes laboratory Instruments, robotics, office automation, graphics, molecular, reaction and other modeling tools, information retrieval and all the other computer resources required by the modern scientist. 

Automation using a robotic liquid handling system eliminated most of the tedious steps encountered with traditional manual extraction procedures. Automated 96-well SPE and LLE techniques using robotic liquid handlers have been successfully implemented to support high-throughput bioanalysis.5... 

Laboratory automation in pharmaceutical analysis attained maturity since robots first appeared in pharmaceutical laboratories more than 20 years ago. While automation offers great promise for improving sample throughput and reducing sample backlog, its implementation has not been without problems. The industry cannot invest heavily in tools that produce little return on investment. Strategies in key aspects of automation such as planning, vendor selection, personnel, and efficient use of systems can determine the success or failure of an automation project. 

A dedicated automation specialist or group with necessary skill sets (analytical chemistry, computer literacy, and instrumentation) able to devote sufficient time to automation implementation is critical to take a project to fruition. The success of a robotics program can be enhanced greatly by making it accessible to a large population. Thus, it is essential for automation specialists to work closely with every analytical area to develop and validate automated methods for developmental products. After the technology is well established, the specialists can return to their operating areas. 

Recently, the miniaturization procedures of bioanalytical studies have become an important research area with particular focus on modem concept of lab-on-a-chip technology [48], with a reduction in manufacturing costs, easy transport, minimal space and minimal maintenance requirements (and costs) in the laboratory and in the fields, even if this progress require a long design and implementation time, non-stable robotic operation, and limited error recovery abilities. 

The decision for each example is expressed as an "action-next state" pair. The "action" is a reference to executable Radial code, which consists of a sequence of Radial statements. These statements may contain references to external programs in various languages (this will be discussed further later). The "next state" describes the context to which control is to pass after the action is completed. For diagnostic expert systems, such as TOGA, the next state will usually be the "goal" state of the module. This passes control back to the calling module. For procedural expert systems, such as robotics and instrumentation control applications, the control will be transferred between several states within a module to Implement looping. 

In an attempt to understand the factors which lead to a successful and acceptable implementation of a robotic system, Molet et al. [2] have described the history of the implementation of a robotic installation in the steel industry in France. TTiey analysed the reactions of the various participants. Most of the difficulties encountered were related to the technological modifications required in the plant to install the robot and its peripheral equipment, and the labour and organizational changes which affected those most directly involved. TTiis experience provides some general lessons about the dos and do nots of rohotization (see also Besson [3] and Guest [4]). 

From inception to final implementation, robotic projects must involve everyone concerned. In the French project (undertaken at the Ecole National Superieure des Mines de Paris in the early 1980s), the initiative to install the robot was taken by management and was not shared by other parties to the project. TTiis separation of functions contributed significantly to the problems encountered (for example unexpected breakdowns, difficulties with peripheral equipment, staffing problems). Similar results have occurred in projects which were initiated and undertaken by the plant management, without the co-operation of other departments. It is not the competence of a particular function or service which is lacking, hut, rather, their interaction. This is because ... 

The sample rack is unique in that it possesses pitch both front to back and side to side. A single robot pick-up point is defined, and an optical (IR) sensor constantly monitors the pick-up point for the presence of a sample. Vials placed in the rack roll down to the pickup point, under the influence of gravity. The rack allows implementation of a novel processing scheme. 

---