POSE: Phase I: Pathways to Open-Source Hardware for Laboratory Automation

Award ID: 2229018

Scientific experiments are highly varied and require deep domain expertise and specialized equipment. Although, laboratory automation increases precision and the efficiency of science experiments, a one-size-fits-all solution does not necessarily exist for science experiments. The Maker Movement has introduced open-source hardware toolkits for computer-controlled tasks, enabling low-cost, customizable, and extensible technologies for automation. These toolkits have so far predominantly been used for digital fabrication applications such as three dimensional (3D) printing. However, these technologies are increasingly customized by scientists for laboratory automation tasks. This project will bring a community of scientists developing and using open-source hardware for laboratory automation together to collaborate on ways of sharing, vetting, and maintaining open source hardware for science and engineering research. Ecosystems for open-source hardware are less well established than their open-source software counterparts -- this project will provide insight into these nascent communities. This project focuses on open-source hardware that can be produced without relying on centralized production and supply chains. This is of interest as it improves the flexibility with which these technologies can be deployed. The collaboration and co-creation mechanisms that will be developed in the context of this project will be valuable to others facing similar challenges stemming from fabricatable designs, distributed manufacturing, trustworthy hardware, and quality control. This project will lower the barrier to laboratory automation by supporting a community using, developing, and maintaining an ecosystem of open-source modular automation technologies. This resource may increase experimental efficiency/yield, improve reproducibility/repeatability, and accelerate scientific progress across different disciplines. Increased access through lower costs will broaden the application space, enabling a larger number of scientists to take advantage of the precision of automation and enabling automation tools to be included in hands-on educational curricula. Details of the project are available at http://depts.washington.edu/machines/scienceautomation including links to current open-source hardware technologies and ways to join the conversation. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

NSF Program Director: Deepankar Medhi