RobotLab
Self-organizing RobotLab for Chemistry
Robotics and artificial intelligence have opened new windows for research in chemistry with opportunities that were not possible with the traditional way of chemical experiments. This approach requires automation and robotization that will exponentially increase the number of experiments and will accelerate scientifically and commercially driven research. The fully automated high-throughput will generate 'Big Data' in large data bases for analysis and interpretation by artificial intelligence. This approach will be used to elevate the formulation of complex mixtures of art to a science-based technology.
Infrastructure and User Services
The hardware equipment consists of a range of liquid and solid handling robotic systems, capable of processing 10,000 samples per week as well as (peptide) synthesis robots. These robotic systems are integrated with fully automated analytical equipment, including (confocal) microscopy, mass spectrometry, HPLC, and LC-MS. These robotic systems form ‘self-driving’ modules capable of carrying out a range of specialized, well-defined, research projects autonomously using advanced data-processing and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to design new experiments based on the result of previous experiments. The facility will collect data on a wide range of chemical systems produced and analyzed by the AI-driving modules, with the aim of training using machine learning and deep learning models. The facility will be open for users from academia and industry. Self-driving modules will be operated by facility staff. If necessary, the facility will help users design experiments and configure new self-driving modules.
Examples/description of the type of research
The complexity of chemistry lies in the interactions that emerge in mixtures of molecules. These interactions prohibit the prediction of the properties of mixtures, where a mixture can be as simple as two surfactants lowering the surface tension of water, and as complex as a drug molecule traveling through the human body towards its target. The Robotlab facility will provide self-driving modules that formulate mixtures of any desired complexity and study their physical and/or chemical properties. The research activities will focus on properties of polymers, surfactants, foams and emulsifiers, (self-repair) paints, fragrances, food, bio-based materials and sustainable/environmental friendly production processes.
The advanced AI-driven and fully automated high-throughput RobotLab will accelerate the development of new products and thereby will provide faster and more efficient (and thereby cheaper) production processes for industry.
How to access the infrastructure
Physical access refers to the hardware RobotLab for high-throughput experiments. Virtual digital access refers to the data base with properties about complex molecules and mixtures of molecules. We will explore if virtual access to RobotLab hardware can be made possible (i.e. users can control robots remotely). External users may have access to the data base. Different modes of access and functionality will be provided, directly related to the subscription fee that external users will pay.
Access to the experimental RobotLab facility is based on:
- excellence for academic research groups
- available time slots for industry