Understanding the Unique Needs of Your Lab for Automation
Some labs perform the same test over and over again and in large volumes. Other labs, like research labs, may perform a single, high-volume workflow for a year before moving on to investigate a related research question. Not every lab’s needs are the same.
When teams are looking to automate protocols in the lab, it’s important to make sure that the process determines the automation. While many companies may have solutions for common workflows like sample labeling or liquid handling, some robotic systems may be more customizable than others.
Before deciding which company you would like to partner with to achieve your laboratory automation goals, it is important to consider whether or not your lab and workflow would be best suited by an all-in-one system or a modular automation solution.
4 Advantages of Modular Lab Automation
All-in-one lab automation instruments can be extremely convenient and easy to use, but modular solutions have distinct advantages over automation solutions that incorporate multiple workflow steps within a single enclosure.
Benefit #1: Reduced Lab Downtime with Modular Automation
One of the biggest advantages of automation and modular components is reduced downtime during scheduled service maintenance or unexpected repairs. Unlike all-in-one systems that require the entire system to go offline during maintenance or repair, modular systems only require individual components of the automation system to be taken offline while being serviced or repaired.
Technicians can step in and perform the portion of the workflow normally completed by an offline component of a modular automated system, eliminating downtime until the module service or repair is complete. This setup is also much more convenient for laboratory personnel and equipment service technicians: individual components of the automated system can be removed from the lab space for servicing, allowing lab staff to continue performing their work without competing for space.
Benefit #2: Tailored Workflows for Enhanced Lab Efficiency
Another advantage of modular automation systems is the ability to automate nearly any workflow.
Some labs, like large clinical labs, perform a single common workflow at high volumes all day and with a single sample type. For these labs and protocols, several all-in-one automation systems may be available to increase throughput, including total, walk-away automation solutions. While some of these systems can be customized to accommodate different plate sizes or protocol steps, the amount of tailoring is generally limited to variations in labware and consumables, dispersed volumes, temperatures, cycling times, and other easily adjustable parameters. Protocols for H&E staining, cell culture expansion and next-generation sequencing library preparation, for example, have many solutions available for various levels of automation.
In contrast, the economics of lab automation simply don’t favor the development of complete automation solutions for unique workflows that are employed in just a handful of laboratories. Research laboratories, in particular, may struggle to find off-the-shelf automation solutions for more unique or experimental protocols. Modular automation systems can integrate all of the individual tasks necessary to complete an entire workflow, customized to the specifications of the lab and at the scale required.
The ability to customize automation and modular components has an additional benefit: tailored footprints. Not every lab has the space or infrastructure necessary to accommodate off-the-shelf laboratory automation systems. In contrast, modular components can be selected and arranged as necessary to facilitate smaller spaces, placement in a chemical fume hood or biosafety cabinet, or non-linear instrument arrangements.
Modular approaches to automation also allow labs to arrange instruments using a robot-centered or process-centered approach. For automated systems that require robotic arms, a robot-centered approach, where instruments are arranged around a single robot to load and unload samples, can lower costs by minimizing the number of robots required to automate a workflow. In contrast, labs can take a process-centered approach that associates a robotic arm with each piece of equipment to linearly arrange instruments. With this approach, a modular conveyor system or autonomous mobile robot (AMR) moves samples between instruments. Some labs prefer a process-centered approach to maximize flexibility and the ability to reconfigure their modules and workflows.
Benefit #3: Agnostic Platforms for Effortless Lab Equipment Integration
Proprietary, off-the-shelf automation systems can be convenient, but they can also limit your ability to interface with instruments from other manufacturers.
Labs may want to purchase an instrument from one vendor and a robot from another vendor to, for example, automate sample analysis in the future. Unfortunately, some manufacturers use difficult proprietary programming languages in their instruments to make integration with equipment outside of their brand more difficult.
Depending on the manufacturer, getting two instruments or robots made by different companies to interface with one another may be challenging, if not impossible. In contrast, modular lab automation solutions are designed to work with all instruments, regardless of vendor or manufacturer. Software such as SoftLinxTM, an easy-to-use platform engineered to plan and run workflows, can communicate between instruments from any manufacturer to automate modular systems.
Because modular automation systems also don’t use proprietary computer programming languages, the systems are much easier to customize. Modular systems, by design, use common programming languages that allow programmers to easily modify parameters outside of set system requirements. While changing system requirements is theoretically possible with all-in-one systems, users must be proficient in a manufacturer’s proprietary coding language to modify certain specifications.
Some proprietary systems also require users to purchase consumables, like pipet tips, microplates, and labels from their company. In the long run, purchasing consumables from a single manufacturer or vendor can become increasingly expensive without the benefit of market competition.
Benefit #4: Future-Proofing Your Lab Automation Investment
Perhaps the most important benefit of modular laboratory automation solutions is the ability to adapt and expand workflows by swapping out and adding different instruments, effectively future-proofing the system.
All-in-one systems are designed to create an automatic lab workflow. Modular systems, in contrast, automate the same workflow by integrating individual systems that can be customized, repurposed, and updated, ensuring the system never becomes obsolete. By leveraging an open communication structure between modular instruments, virtually any workflow can be automated, upgraded, and tailored to achieve the system shape, size, and functionality required.
These points are especially important for labs with limited capital equipment funds, like academic research labs and core facilities, and those considering all-in-one solutions from manufacturers or companies that may be acquired or go out of business. By investing in automated systems that can be integrated or upgraded as technologies and protocols evolve, labs can be confident their equipment will remain relevant and functional over the long term.
Embracing Modular Automation for a Versatile Laboratory
One of the best ways that labs can incorporate modular automation into their workflows is by focusing on the automation of a single protocol step. Once this step has been successfully automated, lab personnel can get a better idea of the efficiency and value automation provides. This experience can help teams prioritize the automation of subsequent workflow steps to meet the current and future needs of the lab.
