Autonomous robot

Many important areas of scientific research require us to tackle problems of a scale and complexity that are beyond the grasp of human researchers, including the development of new technologies such as chemical catalysts, batteries, and medicines.

Experimental complexity also scales up exponentially with the number of variables, which means that most searches are restricted to narrow areas of interest. Laboratory robotics can help with this, but the diversity of sample types, operations, instruments and measurements required has prevented their widespread adoption. Robots that are used in chemistry research are typically hardwired to a specific experiment, limiting their ability to work more flexibly. However, they offer the potential of automating experimental research to a scale that would be impossible for human scientists if new modular technological solutions could be created.

A team of chemists, computer scientists, engineers and roboticists from the University of Liverpool has sought to solve this issue with the creation of a mobile robot scientist that can work almost 24-7, carrying out experiments by itself. The aim was to take robotics in laboratories to the next level by automating the researcher rather than the instruments.

The 1.75m tall robot has humanoid dimensions and can work in a standard laboratory, using instruments in the same way that human researcher would, but without the limitations of tiredness or human error.

It can roam around the laboratory and perform a wide range of tasks, having the physical reach of a human being, and it uses a combination of laser scanning coupled with touch feedback for positioning.

In the first published example of its work, the robot conducted 688 experiments over eight consecutive days, working for 172 out of 192 hours, making 319 moves, completing 6,500 manipulations and travelling a total distance of 2.17km.