TY - JOUR
T1 - DIY liquid handling robots for integrated STEM education and life science research
AU - Li, Ethan
AU - Lam, Amy T.
AU - Fuhrmann, Tamar
AU - Erikson, Len
AU - Wirth, Mike
AU - Miller, Mark L.
AU - Blikstein, Paulo
AU - Riedel-Kruse, Ingmar H.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Li et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
PY - 2022/11
Y1 - 2022/11
N2 - Automation has played a key role in improving the safety, accuracy, and efficiency of manufacturing and industrial processes and has the potential to greatly increase throughput in the life sciences. However, the lack of accessible entry-point automation hardware in life science research and STEM education hinders its widespread adoption and development for life science applications. Here we investigate the design of a low-cost (~$150) open-source DIY Arduino-controlled liquid handling robot (LHR) featuring plastic laser-cut parts. The robot moves in three axes with 0.5 mm accuracy and reliably dispenses liquid down to 20 μL. The open source, modular design allows for flexibility and easy modification. A block-based programming interface (Snap4Arduino) further extends the accessibility of this robot, encouraging adaptation and use by educators, hobbyists and beginner programmers. This robot was co-designed with teachers, and we detail the teachers’ feedback in the context of a qualitative study. We conclude that affordable and accessible LHRs similar to this one could provide a useful educational tool to be deployed in classrooms, and LHR-based curricula may encourage interest in STEM and effectively introduce automation technology to life science enthusiasts.
AB - Automation has played a key role in improving the safety, accuracy, and efficiency of manufacturing and industrial processes and has the potential to greatly increase throughput in the life sciences. However, the lack of accessible entry-point automation hardware in life science research and STEM education hinders its widespread adoption and development for life science applications. Here we investigate the design of a low-cost (~$150) open-source DIY Arduino-controlled liquid handling robot (LHR) featuring plastic laser-cut parts. The robot moves in three axes with 0.5 mm accuracy and reliably dispenses liquid down to 20 μL. The open source, modular design allows for flexibility and easy modification. A block-based programming interface (Snap4Arduino) further extends the accessibility of this robot, encouraging adaptation and use by educators, hobbyists and beginner programmers. This robot was co-designed with teachers, and we detail the teachers’ feedback in the context of a qualitative study. We conclude that affordable and accessible LHRs similar to this one could provide a useful educational tool to be deployed in classrooms, and LHR-based curricula may encourage interest in STEM and effectively introduce automation technology to life science enthusiasts.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85141477349
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85141477349#tab=citedBy
U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0275688
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0275688
M3 - Article
C2 - 36350791
AN - SCOPUS:85141477349
SN - 1932-6203
VL - 17
JO - PloS one
JF - PloS one
IS - 11 November
M1 - e0275688
ER -