VialBot
A small robot arm that helps chemistry labs prepare and load sample vials for HPLC. It takes over the slow, manual prep steps that happen before the instrument runs, and keeps a clean audit log of every move.
Simulation Preview
myCobot 280 Pi in Gazebo Harmonic
A 6-DoF cobot picks vials from a rack, reads barcodes with a wrist camera, and loads each vial into the right slot of an HPLC tray.
A short Gazebo simulation clip will be added here as we progress.
Goal and Objectives
We want to take the slow, manual sample-prep work off the lab technician. Most chemistry labs run HPLC every day to test products, drugs, and food. The instrument is already automatic. The hours of work before each run are not. Our goal is a small robot arm that handles that human-intensive part safely and with a full audit trail.
The Solution
A 6-axis cobot sits on the lab bench and takes over the prep steps a general-purpose arm can do well. Transfer, filter, cap, label, and load vials into the autosampler tray in the right order. We prove every motion in Gazebo first, then move to hardware. Every action is logged so QC and pharma teams can defend the result later.
Features of the Robot Arm
The cell is built around a small collaborative arm, modern perception, and a simulation-first workflow. It is designed to fit on a normal lab bench and to be safe near a human technician.
Covers the Manual Prep Steps
The HPLC instrument runs itself once a vial is in. The hours before that are manual. The arm handles transfer, filter, cap, label, and placement so technicians can focus on harder work.
Camera-Driven Perception
A wrist RGB-D camera finds vials, racks, and the tray. We use AprilTags and modern vision models so the arm keeps working when a beaker or tray is moved by a few millimetres.
Safe Around People
We pick collaborative arms with built-in force limits and clear status lights. A technician can share the bench with the robot without a safety cage in front of it.
Barcode and LIMS Linked
Every vial is barcode-scanned. The arm asks the lab’s LIMS or sample list which slot the vial belongs in. There is no guessing, and no manual data entry from the operator.
Open-Source, Modern Stack
ROS 2 for middleware, MoveIt 2 for motion, Behavior Trees for orchestration, and Gazebo for simulation. Every layer is open source so the lab can maintain and extend the cell.
Full Audit Log
Every pick, scan, and placement is recorded with a timestamp. Pharma and clinical labs need to prove which vial went where. The arm produces that record automatically.
The Sample-Prep Workflow
The HPLC instrument runs itself once a vial is in. The eight steps before that are manual today. The arm focuses on the steps where positioning and choreography matter, and the harder fluid-handling steps are done with the right tool.
- 01
Weighing
Tool-assisted
- 02
Dissolve / Extract
Arm-assisted
- 03
Dilute
Tool-assisted
- 04
Filter
Arm-led
- 05
Transfer to Vial
Arm-led
- 06
Cap
Arm-led
- 07
Label
Arm-led
- 08
Place in Autosampler
Arm-led
“Arm-led” steps are the ones the robot drives directly. “Tool-assisted” steps use a dedicated lab tool (balance, pipette) under arm control.
Why the Robot Arm Helps You
The HPLC sample-prep job is repetitive, exact, and slow. People are good at thinking, not at running the same motion for the hundredth time. The arm handles the repetition so your team can focus on the science.
Saves Hours a Day
A busy QC lab loads dozens of vials a day and runs prep steps for many of them. The arm gives that time back so lab staff can spend it on harder, less repetitive work.
Fewer Wrong-Slot Errors
Hand-loaded trays have a real human error rate. One wrong-slot vial can invalidate a multi-hour HPLC run. The arm follows the same plan every time.
Ready for Audits
In regulated labs, you must prove which vial went where and who placed it. The arm logs every action automatically, so audits and reviews go faster.