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The field of automation is advancing quickly. Instead of large, static systems, scientists now have the option of flexible, modular solutions that use less space and can be adapted to support new workflows as needed. According to a 2018 Siemens Health survey of 99 US lab professionals, more than half of labs surveyed reported that […]

Mobile robots, conveyor belts, schedulers, and other automated solutions are designed to handle the manual labor and data capture in the lab, freeing scientists to analyze data and get things done. Periodically, it is important to evaluate the automation in a lab to ensure that scientists are getting the most out of their existing systems […]

These days, there is so much conversation about the power of lab automation. A study published in the Journal of Healthcare found that when comparing two similar labs, one adopting a total automation system and the other not, the number of tests performed per single worker increased to an average of 1.4 and 3.7 times […]

When scientists invest in automated solutions for their lab, they would rather spend time on research and discovery, not learning to integrate and use those systems. And as new technologies and discoveries come to market faster and faster, a quality laboratory orchestration engine is essential to keeping up with that pace. Defining lab orchestration Lab […]

Every day, in countless laboratories, scientists rely on automation to manage samples, run assays, and capture data from their experiments. So naturally, when their systems stop working, they need to solve the problem quickly and get back to work. In this post, we look at some problems that can come up with automated setups and […]

Buying lab equipment is a major investment for most labs, and scientists have to consider many factors before making the purchase. Modern laboratory equipment like liquid handlers, incubators, mobile robots, electronic lab notebooks, and other devices have been instrumental in helping scientists scale their operations, reduce errors, and maximize every hour. But even with the […]

Gone are the days when scientists’ only options for lab equipment were large, stationary platforms with a limited set of capabilities. Today, many equipment vendors sell modular, nimble automated solutions that let scientists work flexibly and arrange their labs in different ways. We think this trend toward flexible automation will continue in the future and […]

When it’s time to automate lab activities, the fact is that you can approach it from many angles. In-house automation engineering or outside help? Homebrew development of solutions or off-the-shelf products? Automate some or all of the workflow? Manually gather data or automatically collect data through digitization? But there’s one big choice you need to […]

It seems like every lab has some kind of automation these days but tying that automation together into a smart system is what we dream about. We call that an Orchestrated Lab. Is Lab Orchestration the same as Lab Automation? We often see the term “Lab Orchestration” used as a replacement for “scheduling software.” While […]

So, your lab has finally reached the point where automation can start to make a significant difference in how your team spends their day in the lab. But now you’ve come to the next hurdle; the trick of automating any lab is bringing together products from several vendors that aren’t always inherently designed to work […]

A big theme we’ve been hearing from research labs is a desire to run a lab 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Oftentimes, these labs have done a ton of hard work to choose key devices and equipment that scientists run throughout daytime hours, but that equipment is idle in the evening. The […]

To sum up the benefits of mobile robots, it’s that they’re flexible. And because of their flexibility, mobile robots are a great choice for labs where research and development processes change regularly or even labs that want to transport materials between rooms or buildings. Conveyor belts simply can’t pass materials up an elevator to reach […]

For the automation engineers at Biosero, the idea of a mobile robot that’s collaborative, flexible, and able to help bridge the gap between different parts of the lab is revolutionary. It makes you think about droids from Star Wars that beep around star cruisers while executing their tasks, in harmony with the humanoids around them. […]

Our scientists are always coming up with modular, flexible solutions that make working in the laboratory much easier. From conversations with customers, it’s clear that transporting samples, consumables, and instruments in the lab can be a hassle. To answer the challenge, we created a vision-guided dockless cart that can increase convenience and usability for scientists […]

When you think of laboratory automation, you might think of large robotic arms — the kinds that are bolted in place next to instruments they load with samples. But as automation evolves, customers are getting new options that tend to be more mobile, flexible, and agile. What are autonomous mobile robots? Autonomous mobile robots are […]

We are excited to announce the launch of version 7.0 of Green Button Go Scheduler software! This release has a new look and feel designed to make it even easier for users to navigate and understand these great laboratory automation tools. We focused on a few core design principles, including accessibility for all users and […]

For many scientists, the first foray into automation is a homegrown solution cobbled together with different components. The system may not be very efficient and may require jury-rigged parts, but it is customized to the scientists’ needs and gets the job done. Because the system is proprietary, the lab may have a dedicated person or […]

Implementing any new system in the laboratory comes with some level of risk: unforeseen events, instrumentation failure, and changes to the proposal can cause projects to drag on longer than planned, stretching the budget and scientists’ patience. The same is true for automation. Identifying the potential risks of implementing automation infrastructure and having a contingency […]

For Regulatory Compliance, Automation Matters For labs operating in highly regulated industries, ensuring compliance is essential. That can involve meeting specific standards, demonstrating reproducibility, and tracking all data for an audit trail. Failing to comply with these requirements can mean product delays, hefty fines, and severe damage to a company’s reputation. Automation can help scientists […]

Various processes and protocols in the laboratory can be automated, from liquid handling and colony picking to microplate handling and assay management. For scientists, the benefits of automation include greater productivity, consistent assay results, and improved lab safety. One of the critical components of automation infrastructure is the lab scheduling software. This is the tool […]

After designing and building a new automation system, factory acceptance testing or FAT is a vital part of the review and installation process. Its purpose is to ensure that each component in the automation system functions as it should and works in tandem with the other components. It takes place outside the customer’s laboratory, often […]

Scientists working in high-throughput research laboratories understand the need to automate their work processes but making a business case for embarking on an automation project can be difficult. At Biosero, we have extensive experience on this topic based on years of working with our customers. Let’s look at some factors scientists should consider when building […]

In research laboratories, it’s important to maximize scientists’ time during the workday. A key part of that is creating an environment where they can focus on planning experiments and analyzing data to get meaningful results. Essentially, scientists should be goal-oriented rather than task-oriented — which means benchtop assays are ripe targets for automation. One of […]

When scientists run experiments, they can track some of the more pertinent details, such as sample IDs and the experimental protocols they used. What’s harder to capture in real-time is all the associated metadata — such as how long samples were exposed to room temperature, the lot number of the reagents used, and data on […]

Research laboratories often decide to incorporate automation due to limitations with manual workflows. These include issues with research productivity, data processing, tracking samples, and capturing experimental data. Today, labs are under increasing pressure to generate reliable research results that can quickly be transformed into useful products. Access to automation can help scientists meet their research […]

When researchers make the decision to automate their lab processes, the next steps are deciding what solutions they need and then making the investment. It sounds simple, but there are several considerations that automation newcomers should be aware of during this process. To help researchers take their first steps in automation, we highlight some of […]

Laboratory experiments typically involve a lot of repetition, with scientists performing the same tasks over and over again. Automation improves the efficiency of these experiments: robots can be programmed to pipette tiny samples in hundreds of plates or to monitor experimental conditions to ensure the quality of results, leaving scientists free to spend their time […]

Calculating the return on investment (ROI) of automation used in biotechnology research and development can be very challenging. It’s a bit easier to do in industries such as manufacturing, where ROI is measured in terms of the number of units produced, how long it takes to make them, and what it costs. In lab settings, […]

A driver is a software component used to connect and communicate with a device’s Application Programming Interface (API) to control what that device does or does not do. If you’ve ever connected a new keyboard or mouse to your computer, you’ve probably had to wait while the correct driver was downloaded so the accessory could […]

While the dream of an automated laboratory can be appealing, the actual implementation process – choosing the right robots, integrating the workflows, and managing it all through software – is often daunting. How do you choose the right approach for your lab? Before incorporating any new automated technology, it’s important to visualize how it works […]

So, you’ve done your research and are convinced about the value of automation for your internal workflows and processes. How do you go about planning to automate? What kinds of questions should you be asking? The first step is to identify your biggest pain points. Which tasks are taking a significant amount of scientists’ time? […]

Scheduling software is a must-have tool for automation in laboratories. From individual robots to integrated workstations, scheduling software issues the commands that let scientific processes happen without human intervention. Scheduling software has been around for more than 30 years, with today’s sophisticated, AI-powered solutions offering a vast improvement over the more rudimentary tools that were […]

Although it started out as a programming term, application programming interfaces, or APIs, have become something of a catch-all for how instruments and systems communicate with each other. All the instruments within a lab that can be automated have an interface that makes cross-communication possible. APIs today use a variety of languages and methods to […]

The team at Biosero decided to take full advantage of restrictions lifting throughout the country by having an in-person sales meeting at our headquarters in San Diego. It was the perfect time for us to get the growing team together; our customer-facing team has more than tripled in the last few months. In addition, we’ve […]

Researchers in the scientific industry are being asked to move faster and faster to bring new medicines and more productive crops to market, among many other innovations. The acceleration of such scientific discoveries needs to be accomplished at lower costs and without increasing the company’s headcount or compromising the integrity of the research. The question […]

For many people, the term “laboratory automation” brings to mind giant robots, liquid handlers, and other heavy-duty lab machinery. But hardware is only half the story. For true automation, software is essential — it issues commands to all of those instruments and devices, ensuring that every process runs smoothly. Of course, wherever there is software, […]