How Laboratory Automation Tackles the Big Big Data Challenge

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DECHEMA Ausstellungs-GmbH

Automating Biotechnology

Biotechnology production is generally considered to be sustainable and resource-friendly. Experts predict that within 20 years, around one-third of worldwide production will be biotechnology based, including products like pharmaceuticals, biocatalysts and basic and special chemicals.

Under the umbrella of the Research on Production of the Future framework, the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is contributing to this evolutionary trend through its support for the Autobio consortium. The consortium brings together five mid-tier companies along with researchers at TU Berlin who are investigating pathways for automating bioprocessing. The goal is to partially automate bioprocess development which currently takes between five and eight years. By pooling interdisciplinary expertise in biotechnology, IT, process engineering and electrical engineering, the researchers hope to migrate manual development steps to robotic platforms. BMBF will provide a total of € 2.2 million in funding for Autobio through 2015. The overall project budget is € 3.7 million.

Customised Modular Designs

Lab automation has many benefits, but it can involve cost-intensive modifications depending on the lab's size and requirements. Cost-conscious lab operators who intend to introduce automation step-by-step could well benefit from modular systems which can be expanded as needed. To make the systems as future-proof as possible, the modules should conform to current international standards and include standardized interfaces.

Lab automation requires the integration of a wide range of suppliers of soft- and hardware. The challenge today is not to gather more data, but to make good use of the overwhelming amount of information. ACHEMA 2015 offers the opportunity to users, suppliers and service providers to discuss these questions.

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