Laboratory Automation: A New Perspective

1 Laboratory Automation: A New Perspective Mark E. Koehler

Downloaded by 80.82.77.83 on December 28, 2017 | http://pubs.acs.org Publication Date: June 27, 1986 | doi: 10.1021/bk-1986-0313.ch001

Dwight P. Joyce Research Center, Glidden Coatings and Resins, SCM Corporation, Strongsville, OH 44136

Laboratory automation has traditionally meant laboratory instrument automation. While the automated collection and analysis of data from laboratory instruments is still a significant part of laboratory automation, in the modern automated laboratory it is only a part of a larger perspective with the focus on task automation. Simply stated, the goal should be to automate tasks, not instruments. This expanded view of task automation includes new capabilities in the the traditional area of instrument automation and in the somewhat newer related field of robotics. In addition it includes a number of functions which are not new to the office and business environment but have only recently become readily available in the laboratory. These are tools such as data base management, scientific text processing, and electronic mail and document transfer. One way to improve technical productivity is by giving the scientist more time to do science. This can be accomplished through improved efficiency in the office, communication, and information retrieval functions which must be performed as well as by allowing science to be done in new and more efficient ways through the use of computers. The explosive growth i n the a v a i l a b i l i t y of computer tools i n the laboratory requires a new look at the concept of laboratory automation. Much larger gains i n the e f f i c i e n c y and effectiveness of research can be r e a l i z e d by automating tasks rather than by simply automating instruments. Research i s done by researchers, not by instruments. Instruments are just one of many t o o l s which can be used by the researcher. This paper w i l l attempt t o give an overview of instrument automation as the t r a d i t i o n a l view of laboratory automation, and extend t h i s concept to the automation of the t o t a l task of research. 0097-6156/86/0313-0002$06.00/0 © 1986 American Chemical Society

Provder; Computer Applications in the Polymer Laboratory ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1986.

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KOEHLER


Instrument

Laboratory Automation: A New Perspective

Automation

I t i s i n t e r e s t i n g to trace the development of instrument automation over the r e l a t i v e l y b r i e f period of the past ten to f i f t e e n years. Early i n t h i s period, a t r u l y automated instrument was a rare and expensive item b u i l t around a c o s t l y dedicated minicomputer. Automated data c o l l e c t i o n and analysis from any instrument which was not automated at the factory was usually accomplished by d i g i t i z i n g the data and storing i t on a transportable media such as paper tape. These data were then delivered and fed to a timeshare system of some sort on which the data reduction program ran and which printed a report and sometimes a p l o t of the data. Often a considerable time delay occured between the generation and the analysis of the data. The s c i e n t i s t was at the mercy of the computer e l i t e who could implement h i s data logger and provide the necessary computer resources to analyze h i s data. The process was expensive, both i n time and i n money. With the advent of the inexpensive microprocessor chip a number of things began to happen. The laboratory s c i e n t i s t found that he could gain a new independence. Data could be c o l l e c t e d and analyzed v i r t u a l l y simultaneously without having to carry h i s data to the tabernacle of the computer f o r analysis and without having to spending a s i g n i f i c a n t portion of h i s research budget i n the process. Instrument manufacturers began to implant one or more microprocessors i n t o t h e i r wares. In some cases these instruments did absolutely nothing that t h e i r analog predecessors did not do, but they did i t with s t y l e and sold new instruments. In the case of pre-automation instruments or the cases where the vendors did not supply what the experiment demanded, the determined s c i e n t i s t , with very l i t t l e cash investment and with a great deal of e f f o r t , frequently applied i n large doses l a t e at night, could now do what he had always wanted. Home-brew automation was s t i l l beyond the c a p a b i l i t i e s and i n c l i n a t i o n s of the average s c i e n t i s t , but a l l the while, the instrument vendors were doing a better job of supplying what he needed anyway. While a l l t h i s was happening more powerful computers were getting cheaper, cheap computers were getting more powerful, and both were becoming more p l e n t i f u l . Now data could be collected with a simple minded microcomputer, and communicated rather than carried to a larger system where the programming f a c i l i t i e s and peripherals were more r e a d i l y a v a i l a b l e f o r a n a l y s i s , storage, p r i n t i n g of reports and p l o t t i n g . Today the personal computer with i t s own inexpensive peripherals and program development f a c i l i t i e s has entered the scene. Data c o l l e c t i o n i s easy and data reduction, a n a l y s i s , reporting and p l o t t i n g can often be accomplished with generic commercial packages eliminating the need for the s c i e n t i s t to program at a l l , something which most often he was not very good at anyway. The most recent extension of instrument automation has come with the a v a i l a b i l i t y of p r a c t i c a l laboratory robotics systems. These systems can be as easy to implement as the personal computer data system and extend automation beyond c o n t r o l , data c o l l e c t i o n and


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COMPUTER APPLICATIONS IN THE POLYMER LABORATORY analysis for a s i n g l e instrument or method to the automation of the e n t i r e analysis process i n c l u d i n g complex sample preparation. The robotic system i s capable of automating not just a s i n g l e a n a l y s i s , but the t o t a l range of analyses required f o r each sample by a variety of instruments and methods simultaneously. In addition to t h i s , several vendors are now o f f e r i n g Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) which allow automated Instruments to be networked to a host computer f o r sample scheduling, analysis and reporting.


Task Automation There we have i t , i f data c o l l e c t i o n and analysis can not be done now, i t i s usually because someone doesn't want i t to be done. Where then are the new horizons i n laboratory automation? We return to the concept of task automation. Task automation involves determining what i t i s we should be doing, and using automation to accomplish i t e f f i c i e n t l y . This i s a restatement of the now f a m i l i a r e f f i c i e n c y and effectiveness concept. I t must f i r s t be recognized that the s c i e n t i s t works on two sides of the laboratory. There i s the bench side of the lab where the instruments are located and experiments are performed and there i s the desk side of the laboratory where the data i s analyzed, the reports and publications are written and the multitude of desk and information management tasks are performed. I t i s e s s e n t i a l that these two sides be brought together i n order to automate the t o t a l task. Automation of the bench side i s now f a m i l i a r , but the s c i e n t i s t must perform the "keeping track o f , the communicating, the information storage and r e t r i e v a l and a l l the other a c t i v i t i e s generally associated with an o f f i c e worker. Since the s c i e n t i s t i s spending a large percentage of h i s time performing as an o f f i c e worker, i t would seem only l o g i c a l that he should be provided with the same sort of t o o l s and resources found i n the modern o f f i c e environment. This i s p a r t i c u l a r l y true i f one considers that t h i s o f f i c e work i s not the s c i e n t i s t ' s primary function and should be done as e f f i c i e n t l y as possible i n order to allow more time f o r technical a c t i v i t i e s . The provision of these o f f i c e automation t o o l s to the s c i e n t i s t must be done i n a way which integrates the o f f i c e a c t i v i t i e s with the lab a c t i v i t i e s . Global planning must be done f o r the implementation of a comprehensive system which includes laboratory instruments, r o b o t i c s , o f f i c e automation, graphics, molecular, reaction and other modeling t o o l s , information r e t r i e v a l and a l l the other computer resources required by the modern s c i e n t i s t . To implement t h i s global system e f f i c i e n t l y a consistent user interface or a universal workstation through which a l l automated a c t i v i t i e s can be performed i s required. This allows consistency i n the s c i e n t i s t ' s i n t e r a c t i o n s with the system and allows him to e f f i c i e n t l y move between workstations i n the course of h i s work. The manager and the secretary must be part of the global plan as w e l l . Information transfer and communication are required not only with other s c i e n t i s t s i n the laboratory, but with the administration and support functions as w e l l . The manager must bridge between the technical and the business functions. To accomplish t h i s he must


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Laboratory Automation: A New Perspective

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have access to the same t e c h n i c a l and o f f i c e t o o l s used by the s c i e n t i s t , and i n addition he requires access t o business and f i n a n c i a l information, project management t o o l s , and decision support systems. In a large organization, t h i s means access t o both the s c i e n t i f i c computer systems and t o corporate business systems. Again, t h i s must a l l be accomplished from a s i n g l e workstation a t the manager's desk i n order t o be e f f e c t i v e .


Summary Automation of today's laboratory should no longer be viewed simply as instrument automation. The modern s c i e n t i s t i s an o f f i c e worker as w e l l as a technical worker and must be given the computer t o o l s t o allow the i n t e g r a t i o n o f the t o t a l laboratory task. The y i e l d s t o the companies which recognize t h i s w i l l be s i g n i f i c a n t improvements i n both the e f f i c i e n c y and effectiveness of t h e i r research function.

Recommendations for Further Reading The following is a list of recent articles and other references which, in addition to the many excellent papers in this volume, may help to provide a more detailed insight to some of the concepts discussed in this paper.

1. "Managing the Electronic Laboratory: Part I", R. E. Dessy, Ed., Analytical Chemistry, 56, 725A (1984). 2. "Managing the Electronic Laboratory: Part II", C. Snyder, R. E. Dessy, Ed., Analytical Chemistry, 56, 855A (1984). 3. "Laboratory Computer Networks", S. A. Borman, Analytical Chemistry, 56, 413A (1984). 4. "Office Automation, A User-Driven Method", D. Tapscott, Plenum Press, New York, 1982. 5. "Integrated Laboratory Automation", J. G. Liscouski, American Laboratory, 17(1), 63 (1985). 6. "Computers Gaining Firm Hold in Chemical Labs", P. S. Zurer, Chemical and Engineering News, 63(33), 21 (1985). Received November 14, 1985


Laboratory Automation: A New Perspective

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