|
Take heed to this text  |
GoFa cobots on AMRs at XtalPi. Supply: ABB
Laboratory automation entails repetitive however exacting processes. XtalPi and ABB Robotics this week mentioned they’ve entered a strategic partnership to supply a variety of automated laboratory workstations in China.
The businesses mentioned that ABB’s GoFa collaborative robots and XtalPi’s software program will increase analysis and growth productiveness in biopharmaceuticals, chemical engineering and chemistry, and new-energy supplies.
“By way of partnering with ABB, we will enhance effectivity in laboratories by implementing a human-robot integration mannequin,” mentioned Chenxi Zhang, director of automation product administration at XtalPi, in a launch. “We hope to mix XtalPi’s clever software program system and trade expertise with ABB’s experience in robotics to carry extra revolutionary options to the pharmaceutical trade.”
He added that the brand new joint providing may assist increase robotics and AI adoption within the sciences. The worldwide marketplace for laboratory robotics may develop from $185.8 million in 2020 to $274.49 million by 2026 at a compound annual development fee (CAGR) of 6.72%, predicted Mordor Intelligence. It cited the necessity for accuracy and security.
Submit your nominations for innovation awards within the 2024 RBR50 awards.
XtalPi makes use of greater than 100 cobots
Based in 2014 at MIT, XtalPi applies synthetic intelligence and robotics to digital transformation within the life science and new-materials industries. The firm has 989 staff, together with greater than 700 scientists and technologists, in Cambridge, Mass., in addition to in Shanghai, Beijing, and Shenzhen, China.
In 2022, XtalPi purchased over 100 GoFa cobots to automate lab workstations at its testing facility in Shanghai. This yr, it formally launched the XtalPi Clever Automation model to help researchers.
XtalPi Clever Automation makes use of ABB’s cobots to automate the synthesis and crystallization processes concerned in growing new medicine and supplies. The workstations could be custom-made to fulfill particular necessities, utilizing totally different modules to finish numerous experiment steps.
ABB mentioned its GoFa can tackle repetitive, guide duties whereas additionally working nonstop to speed up the tempo of experimentation. By producing massive volumes of high-quality knowledge, the system may also help increase the effectivity of the “design-make-test-analyze” analysis cycle, mentioned the companions.
XtalPi added automation to an array of lab workstations. Supply: ABB
GoFa handles quite a lot of lab duties
XtalPi Clever Automation makes use of GoFa to develop preparation, diluting and filtration, response, UPLC (ultra-performance liquid chromatography) testing, and so-called glovebox workstations. XtalPi mentioned it additionally works with pattern warehouses and automatic guided autos (AGVs) to make R&D quicker and extra environment friendly.
Every automated workstation can carry out tons of of various experiments, with ABB’s cobots working in a variety of difficult environments. These embody glove containers with no moisture or oxygen.
GoFa can carry out complicated duties equivalent to opening lids and putting lab tools, dealing with liquids, including samples, and doing magnetic stirring with minimal supervision, mentioned ABB.
AMRs geared up with GoFa cobots switch samples routinely between workstations, growing effectivity whereas additional lowering prices. ABB acquired AMR supplier ASTI in 2021 and built-in and rebranded the robots below its Flexley line.
Outfitted with a GoFa cobot and 4 rotating columns, automated pattern warehouses can retailer and retrieve laboratory reagents. This improves high quality management and makes the method extra traceable, the businesses claimed.
XtalPi makes use of GoFa for quite a lot of testing duties. Supply: ABB
ABB continues healthcare enlargement
“Our collaboration with XtalPi marks one other milestone for ABB’s collaborative robots within the life sciences sector,” said Jose-Manuel Collados, supervisor of the service robotics product Line at ABB Robotics. “ABB Robotics and XtalPi will radically advance lab analysis and growth by means of automation that works facet by facet with individuals.”
“By enabling pharma and biotech firms to develop new medicine quicker and with much less price, ABB helps to additional analysis into illness prevention, creating more healthy societies,” he mentioned. “Our new Open Innovation Lab for Life Science and Healthcare in Zhangjiang, Shanghai, enhances our work at our Life Sciences and Healthcare Lab on the Texas Medical Heart Campus in Houston.”
That is ABB Robotics’ newest mission within the lab automation market, whose income was $5.1 billion in 2022 and will rise to $7.1 billion in 2028, in line with Markets and Markets.
ABB Robotics & Discrete Automation claimed that it’s the solely firm with an built-in portfolio together with industrial automation, cellular robots, and methods designed and orchestrated by its software program. Auburn Hills, Mich.-based ABB Robotics mentioned it serves sectors starting from automotive and electronics to logistics.
The enterprise space of Zurich-based ABB Group employs about 11,000 individuals at greater than 100 areas worldwide. In June, it opened U.S. packaging and logistics headquarters in Atlanta.