ITMO: Robots chemists

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• Robots (robotics)
• Industrial robots

2020: Announcement of "robots chemists"

On December 24, 2020 it became known that specialists of the ITMO University work on creation of technology assistants in chemical laboratories who will be able to perform all routine work without intervention of the person. The first prototypes which fulfill the simplest manipulations are already created. In the future "robots chemists" will be able to conduct full-fledged researches on collecting of large volume of data and their primary analysis.

The ITMO of robots taught to make chemical experiments. Photo: russian.rt.com.

According to the company, carrying out chemical experiments and their analysis occupy scientists the most part of time from all work. Any chemist can mix and dissolve reagents, but for some researches and experiments it is necessary to repeat hundreds of times the same manipulations, at the same time having saved the accuracy of proportions of reagents. Besides, a large number of forces leaves on a combination of reagents among themselves and fixing of the received results. All these processes are similar that they require repetition of the same actions with a small difference of variables.

We aim to create autonomous laboratory in which not specialists, and manipulators laboratory assistants will work on routine experiments. Our task to teach robots to execute almost completely independently many experiments in chemical laboratories during which it is necessary to create tens and hundreds of times mixes or solutions of the set structure, and then to move test tubes with them between the equipment. Manipulators are printed on the 3D-printer that many times over reduces costs for creation of autonomous chemical laboratory. Artemy Zenkin, the engineer of the ITMO University told

Specialists of ITMO decided to assign to the equipment some of these processes using the chemical autonomous platform which will be able to transfer tests, to set concentration of reagents, to fix the turned-out reactions, to analyze them and to predict possible results. The main difference of this technology from those that exist for December, 2020 it is use based on the platform of neural network which will study in the course of work with reagents. For December, 2020 there is an assembly of the first working prototype under which already develop the software.

Other "robot chemist" will undertake creation of mixes and solutions. The manipulator can work in laboratory, independently "reshuffling" reagents. The robot itself will understand when all necessary processes are complete, and will stop manipulations. For December, 2020 the electronic laboratory assistant studies the simplest actions, but he is already able to rearrange test tubes and to turn off covers.

We look forward to robots laboratory assistants in Infokhimiya's NOTs of the ITMO University. One of relevant tasks for December, 2020 is a studying of solubility in complex systems at association of molecules in supramolecular structures. When studying association it is possible to vary a wide range of parameters from a ratio of components, ionic force, rn, etc. Robots will be able just to obtain necessary data. In the long term it will help with creation of the theory which will become a serious step forward for fundamental science in such questions as studying of self-organization of live matter, and will even shed light on the mechanism of origin of life. On the practical level it will lead to creation of pharmaceuticals and chemical sensors. Ekaterina Skorb, the director of NOTs of Infokhimiya and the leading professor of the ITMO University shared