OSCAR: A Modular Open-Source Robotic Platform for Biological Laboratories
David Pivin, Antoine Champie, Mirco Plante, François Ferland, François Michaud, Sébastien Rodrigue
TL;DR
OSCAR is a low-cost, open-source robotic platform designed to automate common lab tasks, making automation more accessible and flexible for biological research.
Contribution
The novel contribution is the development of a modular, open-source robotic system that integrates standard lab equipment for diverse biological workflows.
Findings
OSCAR successfully performed a complete plasmid assembly workflow, including PCR, assembly, transformation, and validation.
The platform uses a dual-function robotic arm with pipetting and vision-enabled gripping capabilities.
OSCAR is compatible with standard lab consumables and equipment, reducing reliance on proprietary systems.
Abstract
Biological research often involves complex, repetitive, and high-throughput manipulations that are well-suited to automation. However, current robotic systems generally excel only at narrowly defined tasks or standardized workflows and remain expensive, inflexible, and dependent on proprietary modules or reagents. To address these limitations, we developed the Open-Source Collaborative Automation & Robotics (OSCAR) platform, a flexible and low-cost system designed to perform common laboratory manipulations using standard, human-operated equipment. OSCAR incorporates open-source software and modular hardware to maximize accessibility and affordability. The platform features a robotic arm equipped with a dual-function end-effector: a pipetting module for precise liquid handling and a vision-enabled gripper for manipulating laboratory tools. To demonstrate the platform’s versatility, we…
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Taxonomy
TopicsModular Robots and Swarm Intelligence · Micro and Nano Robotics · Biosensors and Analytical Detection