Automate Biological Experimentation with OpenLH

While we may not think of biology as being a repetitive task, I’m sure there are many people in labs throughout the world picking up various liquid substances with pipettes over and over that would disagree. If only there was a cost-effective way to automate repetitive liquid handling so that the humans involved could start on more interesting tasks…

As you’ve probably guessed, OpenLH fills this role, as a liquid handling robot based on the uArm Swift Pro robotic arm. This system integrates a custom end effector that is able to work with pipettes — small-scale liquid handling devices — and dispenses the appropriate amount of liquid using a linear actuator operated syringe pump. The system uses Python along with a Blockly interface for control, and is able to drop fluids with an average error of only .15 microliters.

Large-scale screenings would be one application for this type of robot, as well as depositing the proper amount of material over and over for bioprinting. A demo of the device can be seen in the video below, or if you happen to be in Temple Arizona in mid-March next year, it will be presented there at the International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interactions.