Smart laboratory: What benefits does the intelligent laboratory provide?

Imagine a laboratory in which people, robots, equipment, and artificial intelligence work together seamlessly. While intelligent machines handle routine tasks, the laboratory workers concentrate on complex activities which require specialized knowledge, creativity, and research spirit – that is, those tasks which make work in this sector so exciting. 

A smart laboratory should enable precisely this. This article describes what a smart laboratory is and the benefits which it offers – including some specific technologies which can already be implemented in the smart lab.

What does “smart laboratory” mean?

A smart laboratory is an ultra-modern work environment which is completely digital, intelligent, and largely automated. Human and machine work hand-in-hand here. This is possible thanks to the latest technologies:

• Sensors, equipment, and systems in the laboratory are connected to one another via the Internet of Things (IoT), they monitor the environment and communicate in real time.

• Laboratory information and management systems (LIMS) record data and process it. 

• Automated robots handle repetitive tasks such as sample preparation and transport.

• Artificial intelligence detects patterns in large quantities of data and derives valuable insights from this. 

• By using mobile, cloud-based applications, researchers can access their data regardless of where they are and control laboratory processes.

• Virtual and expanded reality (VR/AR) visualise complex experiments and help with training and further training.

The goal of these technologies in the smart laboratory is to make laboratory work more efficient and safer, while the quality of research goes up. A digital laboratory environment where all of these goals are reached is also called Laboratory 4.0 in the sector.

What opportunities and benefits does the smart lab offer?

Smart labs offer numerous possibilities to change laboratory work drastically. Among other things, intelligent systems have a positive effect on the workload and workers’ safety, but also on efficiency, quality, and sustainability. Here is an overview of the key benefits which a smart laboratory offers.

Easier work

The goal of every technology is first and foremost to make people's work easier – and thus also in the smart laboratory. Monotonous routine work such as sample preparation and analysis is done by robots, for example, so that the human laboratory team can concentrate on more demanding and exciting tasks. 

Increased safety

Smart labs also reduce the risk of occupational accidents. Robotic systems handle tasks in hazardous environments and help with the handling of hazardous materials. The processing of smaller sample quantities also reduces the risk of accidents. Another example are smart sensors which report right away if certain environmental values (e.g., the CO₂ concentration) is in a dangerous range.

Smart laboratory as an attractive workplace

The automation of monotonous work and increasing of safety in the laboratory conceals another benefit: Workplaces in medicine, chemistry, science, and similar disciplines will become more attractive for talented young people. As a result, the modern, smart laboratory helps to acquire well-trained specialised workers.

Time savings and cost reduction

Work not only becomes easier but is also faster and more cost-effective. Automated flows and artificial intelligence ensure this. In particular, AI systems can process impressive quantities of data thanks to their enormous computing power. 

In a very short time, they can conduct analyses writ large – without increasing costs significantly. In contrast: AI optimises the material and energy consumption and thus reduces operating costs.

Greater transparency

With networked systems and real-time data exchange, transparency in operations increases. Laboratory managers can monitor the status of equipment, samples, and ongoing experiments at any time, even from far away thanks to cloud solutions. In case of errors and malfunctions, it is possible to react immediately in goal-oriented fashion and prevent shutdowns.

Higher-quality results

A smart lab also scores points with its precision and repetition accuracy. Intelligent machine support reduces errors and guarantees consistent, reproducible results. This improves the overall quality of the research work.

Greater sustainability

Smart labs also offer many possibilities for ensuring a sustainable laboratory and conserving resources. For example, intelligent equipment and processes can help...

• Optimise water and energy consumption.

• Reduce material consumption and prevent waste.

• Reduce accidents with substances which are harmful to the environment.

• Prevent unnecessary repetition of experiments thanks to precise flows.

• Plan maintenance of the laboratory equipment in advance.

Accordingly, there are also a lot of good reasons to make your own laboratory smart. But with which technologies can the benefits of smart labs be achieved in practice now?

The smart lab in practice

From smart sensors to robotic arms to automated data processing – in ever more laboratories, such smart equipment and technologies are already being used today. Here are a few specific examples.

Collaborative robots as smart assistants

Ever more often, robotic arms from industry are being used in the laboratory environment. Their advantage: They combine the flexible movements of people with the precision and endurance of a machine.

Modern robot arms are frequently designed as collaborative robots (cobots): They can collaborate safely with specialised laboratory workers without requiring physical separation. Frequently, they move around the work environment by themselves on castors.

An example of this is “Kevin”, a cobot developed by the Fraunhofer Institut for automation technology. Kevin accepts samples and transports them by itself between various laboratory areas. And the cobot can also handle other repetitive tasks such as the labelling of test tubes and the preparation of samples for analysis.

Intelligent control and monitoring in the laboratory

To create transparency and ensure greater safety, control and monitoring software will be used in smart labs in the future. Here, smart sensors monitor the functionality of the laboratory equipment and environmental factors such as temperature and humidity.

Malfunctions and hazardous situations are detected immediately by such a system, which on the one hand prevents occupational accidents and on the other protects the workers who are in the laboratory.

Waldner's “Lab Control Center (LCC)” is such software; it monitors and controls our laboratory fume hoods and the experiments conducted in real time thanks to integrated sensors. And equipment can also be connected seamlessly and monitored too.

Communication standards for networked laboratories

Another example of digitalisation in smart laboratories are communication standards such as the “Laboratory and Analytical Device Standard” (LADS) and “Standardization in Lab Automation” (SiLA). These are open-source standards which network various manufacturers’ laboratory equipment.

Previously, many laboratories were working with numerous isolated solutions which were not connected to one another. Thanks to standards such as LADS and SiLA, such isolated solutions are being simplified and incorporated into an overall system. This way, they can exchange data in real time. This increases the efficiency of many processes and reduces manual transmission work. At the same time, the error quota drops.

Simulations and predictions with artificial intelligence

Currently, artificial intelligence is drawing great attention due to its capacity to analyse large quantities of data and detect patterns which are difficult for people to see. An application example is protein research with deep learning software Alphafold.

This AI-based tool is trained with hundreds of thousands of already-known protein structures, and it can predict the structure of new proteins with great accuracy. This capacity is especially valuable for medicine and speeds up the development of vaccines and cancer therapies, among other things. 

The benefit of the software is that it can select promising candidates in advance. Human workers must then simply test these variants. This process reduces the number of unnecessary tests.

First steps toward the smart laboratory

The implementation of a truly smart laboratory is not so easy. Even in the laboratory planning, the smart lab poses many new challenges. It's important to work closely with experts even during the design phase and to work together to formulate the needs and goals. 

This will prevent the development of isolated solutions which will stand in the way of the efficiency of the entire system. The search for suitable technologies comes only after conducting a needs analysis. 

In pilot projects, these can be tested well on a small scale and later scaled up for the entire laboratory. A sophisticated migration concept makes the transition from existing to new systems easier. 

Last but not least, it is especially important to familiarise the laboratory team with the possibilities of the smart lab and to monitor the performance and efficiency of the new systems.

If these steps are taken, then the task is just to remain up to date. This includes regular exchange with specialists from a variety of sectors and specialised fields: Experts from science and research, IT infrastructure and technology specialists, laboratory planners, universities, schools, and many more. 

For a smart lab only remains smart if it is always rethought and optimised by as many parties as possible.