Redefining “Robot” for the Modern Laboratory
The word robot usually inspires images of red-eyed boxy 1950s movie minions with flashing buttons. Androids and human analogs have received attention in the entertainment industry as well, all under the heading of robot. The automatic vacuum–a small dome that moves around on the carpet, cleaning as it goes, until it hits a wall and changes direction–is a type of robot. Devices in factories that perform simple repetitive tasks are robots. With science fiction taking the place of true science for many, we fail to notice the robots around us because they fail to live up to our inflated expectations. Although there are several definitions available, in general a robot is a mechanical device guided by a computer program or electronic circuitry and able to carry out some task autonomously or nearly-so. Glowing red eyes or humanoid appearance are not defining features.
No one can argue the benefits of robotics in factory work. The lost jobs were the ones that had the highest rate of repetitive motion trauma, injury and death, thus losing the job to save the employee. For every job replaced there was a job gained in the robotics industry or a higher-level position generated to oversee or maintain the robots. Humans are gradually being reserved for the jobs that require reasoning and decision making. As a latent effect of this safety-based automation, the tasks left to robots can be preformed to exacting specifications time and time again with an accuracy that is beyond human capability.
A laboratory is the perfect place for robots, where exacting precision is necessary over a series of repetitive actions. Putting compounds through a variety of steps, such as adding liquids or solids, or freezing or heating the substance, is commonplace in the pharmaceutical industry. Waste is reduced as robots do not suffer from human error and do not need to take breaks. Large-scale tasks can be completed with minimal staff in a clean and efficient environment.
A Simple Plan: Tools
The technology of robotic laboratory systems is still improving and even complex sensors that detect changes in color may be just around the corner. To offset the cost of the initial investment, the ideal candidate for a robotic laboratory system is a company that will need the same tasks to be performed consistently over a long period of time. Initially it will not save money over the cost of a human staff, but in time it will become more and more cost effective as the system continues to provide consistent, quality results for years.
The Essentials of Labratories – The Basics
A world that makes the most of robotic labor is one that has an efficient, clean and exciting future. With repetitive tasks performed by machinery, humans are free to be the innovators they were meant to be. It will still be a human who finds the cure for cancer, but if that human has automated lab instrumentation and automated lab robot systems to help, it will just come that much quicker.