‘Human-in-the-loop’ approach could cut costs of robotic labs by 90%

A self-driving lab that uses 3D printed components and allows chemists to run reaction samples on shared analytical instruments can cut the cost of these automated platforms by as much as 90%.¹ The researchers behind the new system say that this will help ‘to democratise the field’ by making this type of workflow more accessible.

Autonomous or self-driving labs could help speed up research by handing over tasks – such as sample preparation, synthesis and data analysis – to programmed machines and robots. However, such setups often require specialist equipment and knowledge, making them inherently costly and inaccessible to many research groups.