Mobile Robot for Life Science Automation

Abstract

The paper presents a control system for mobile robots in distributed life science laboratories. The system covers all technical aspects of laboratory mobile robotics. In this system: (a) to get an accurate and low-cost robot localization, a method using a StarGazer module with a number of ceiling landmarks is utilized; (b) to have an expansible communication network, a standard IEEE 802.11g wireless network is adopted and a XML-based command protocol is designed for the communication between the remote side and the robot board side; (c) to realize a function of dynamic obstacle measurement and collision avoidance, an artificial potential field method based on a Microsoft Kinect sensor is used; and (d) to determine the shortest paths for transportation tasks, a hybrid planning strategy based on a Floyd algorithm and a Genetic Algorithm (GA) is proposed. Additionally, to make the traditional GA method suitable for the laboratory robot's routing, a series of optimized works are also provided in detail. Two experiments show that the proposed system and its control strategy are effective for a complex life science laboratory.

Concepts for 3D Printing-Based Self-Replicating Robot Command and Coordination Techniques

“…Liu, et al [34], for example, presented a control system for a collection of life science laboratory mobile robots. Pennisi, et al [35] presented the use of multi-robot surveillance (for indoor public places) using a distributed sensor network that combines RFID tags, mobile robots, and RGBD cameras.…”

Flexible End2End Workflow Automation of Hit-Discovery Research

“…In case of a Web service interface of the transport PCS, like in the realized example, the integration of the transport robots into overall process chains is uncomplicated. In our case study, the in-house-developed PCS manages, coordinates, and instructs several robots for local transportation tasks [14]. The Web service call to order the transport job includes all required information such as source and destination, kind of transport object, and the deadline.…”

Multi-floor navigation method for mobile robot transportation based on StarGazer sensors in life science automation

“…A new mobile robot transportation system was developed by our research group for the use in modern life science laboratories [1]. The transportation system deals with many technical issues including: mobile robot communication system [2], path planning [3]- [5], charging management [6] and arm manipulation [7].…”