Bringing Automation to the Lab: Robotic Sampling in Action

The Oliveira Lab is exploring robotic automation as part of our effort to build more autonomous experimental workflows. Our latest setup uses a robotic arm to perform repeatable sampling tasks, creating a foundation for integrating automated sample collection with microbial experiments.

By coordinating the robotic arm with experimental hardware and software, we are working toward systems that can collect samples at defined locations and time points with less manual intervention. This could make long-duration experiments easier to standardize while creating new opportunities to connect physical laboratory actions with real-time measurements and computational decision-making.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/c9cc9a_c9583098c9ca41cba643fade87f71452/720p/mp4/file.mp4

This work supports the lab’s broader goal of combining robotics, automation, microfluidics, and computational tools to develop smarter experimental platforms for studying and engineering microbial systems.