While studying and working a Labman, I designed, built and developed a Quad Rotor including the frame, electronics and flight control software as I thought it would be an interesting challenge and learning exercise. The software is written in C++ and runs on an on-board micro-controller called an mBed. I used the Quad Rotor in my University dissertation, developing semi-autonomous …
The mechanical and electrical build phase of the Bayer CropScience Fraction Collector and Re-formatter system is nearing completion. This is a first for Labman as we are fitting a new robotic system in to an existing enclosure that was originally installed by Labman in 2002. The new system is capable of collecting up to 500 fractions and reformatting them into …
An EU research project is under-way to develop an automated method for identifying and tracking mould contamination during fruit juice production. Moulds exist naturally in fruits. Some mould strains can defer the quality and shelf-life of the juice. Some mould strains are also hazardous to the health of the consumer. For fruit juice producers, this can prove expensive in terms …
At Labman we are currently working hard on the production of one of our latest systems for the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS) at Aberystwyth University. The University currently performs a number of biomass grinding, dispensing and preparation processes which they wish to automate. The system that Labman is manufacturing, comprises of three separate bespoke robots which …
A high throughput metabolite extraction system designed and developed by Labman is due for delivery this week. The system has fully automated the process of extracting polar and non-polar metabolites from lyophilised plant material. Tissue samples and materials collected directly from the plant is loaded into the system which processed them into output vials ready to be loaded onto GC …
Last week saw Labman install a semi-automated bench top water filtration device at Thames Water Laboratories in Reading. The system filters dirty & final effluent water samples pre-analysis, which have been brought in from the field. The team at Thames Water initially kicked off investigations into a filtration product after a number of concerns were raised over their current method …
Last Wednesday the Labman team delivered one of our robotic system enclosures to Isogenica in Cambridge. This system was fairly simple in comparison to most of our projects with the robotics platform being outsourced by Isogenica to Tecan UK. Tecan then worked with Labman, providing one of their Evolution 150 systems for integration into a safety enclosure at the Labman …
All Labman robots are supplied with control software written in C#. Up until recently software for a robot was coded from scratch, with only standard hardware modules being used from previous projects. After reviewing this it was decided to standardise all Labman software and to provide a common base application framework across all systems. This base application would house all …
Labman are manufacturing a pair of wood grinding sample systems for the French National Institute for Agriculture Research (INRA – http://www.international.inra.fr/). The systems grind a variety of plant material including roots, leaves and woody tissues from Pine, Oak, Poplar, Ash and other varieties. Ground sample powder is dispensed into vials for chemical extraction, NIRS analysis or archiving. The hardware is …
