German laboratories are facing a severe labor shortage: According to a study by LABO magazine, 87% of laboratories in Germany do not have enough employees to handle the daily testing work of laboratory samples. Demographic change is intensifying this problem, as more and more testing capacity is needed due to the aging population. At the same time, German laboratories already have to process around 4,500 samples per shift by an average of 8 employees.
Automating manually complex processes with the help of robots is an effective way to face these problems. The willingness of laboratories to automate sample handling processes is high: In the field of laboratory diagnostics and especially in laboratory automation, various solutions from robotics - such as applications with gripper arms - are already in use today, which are capable of performing common procedures such as simple sample handling or pipetting. The challenge: In a constantly changing world, product or process redesigns occur quickly, such as the processing of new sample types in laboratory diagnostics. Already today, laboratories process an average of 34 different types of samples - the solutions required demand a correspondingly high level of reliability, precision and flexibility. Even small adjustments and changes to automation solutions with conventional robots, however, are expensive and lengthy, as they can only be carried out by specialist personnel, require complex programming and entail process downtimes. They also lack perception and are unable to distinguish between the contents of samples, for example. So what could be done to meet the current and future demands of flexible, dynamic everyday laboratory work? The answer: smart automation.
In order to grasp things or move them from A to B, humans need a brain, eyes, arms, hands and the appropriate skill to perform the task. Thi means applied to robotics: in addition to the robot arm, you need the appropriate gripper as a hand, a vision system as eyes, and a brain - the robobrain®. The robobrain® is an industrial PC that forms the core component of each solution based on patented AI technology. The corresponding capabilities are available as so-called "skills" on the robobrain®. Different capabilities require different skills, or in other words: if the robot arm needs a new capability, a new skill can simply be downloaded. The robot is then immediately ready for use. The robobrain® is based on true Artificial Intelligence and acts as the "brain" controlling all components of an application: robot arm, gripper, vision system & co. which can be added to and combined as required. This flexibility makes it possible to create suitable solutions for a wide variety of problems. In addition, all robobrain® solutions can be integrated into existing systems with little effort thanks to the openness and manufacturer independence of the system.
The robobrain® technology can simplify laboratory automation and take it to the next level thanks to smart skills that give robots intelligence. The laboratory as a possible environment for the use of robots offers numerous possibilities here, as a laboratory sample passes through many different process steps with automation potential. Whether loading and unloading centrifuges, pipetting different media and units or identifying samples: Depending on the problem, robominds already offers a variety of different skills that relieve laboratory staff. The Sample Tube Detection Skill, for example, is particularly well-suited for the laboratory. It recognizes the different shapes and colors of laboratory samples and enables the robot to process them in a structured manner.
For many laboratories, the challenge is that samples arrive two to three times a day in large quantities. Consequently, the batches have to pass through the entire process chain as quickly as possible and without idle time. robominds has developed a plug & play robotic cell for automated sample handling for this purpose. By integrating the AI-based robobrain® technology and various AI skills (including the Sample Tube Detection Skill), the cell is able to detect, identify, sort and subsequently place incoming sample tubes into standardized racks. The solution therefore has two key functionalities: First, the automatic sorting of incoming samples (up to 600/h) to reduce tedious manual tasks; second, the establishment of a quality gate that identifies faulty tubes to reduce costly downtime. Thanks to the intelligent user interface, this solution can be easily operated by anyone, without any prior robotics knowledge.
More about the Plug & Play robotic cell
Sufficient space in the laboratory environment is a privilege - lack of space accordingly often the reality. Thanks to AI robotics, there is a suitable solution for this problem as well: the uMobileLab - a mobile robot with a collaborative gripper arm that, thanks to its mobility, can be used exactly where its help is needed at the moment. Based on robobrain® technology, the voice-controlled solution from robominds partner RobSolutions is able to support laboratory employees in their daily work thanks to various skills, sensitive sensor technology and the latest gripping technology, such as equipping and operating diagnostic equipment or monitoring the fill level of laboratory samples - the possible applications are versatile and flexible. The uMobileLAB can be easily connected to existing laboratory information management systems (LIMS). Its open interfaces also enable connectivity and communication with other devices in the lab, such as centrifuges, analyzers or quality testing.
