Japan-made lab android automates dangerous lab work

Japan has developed a two-armed robot that can automate laboratory work, handling dangerous materials like bio-hazards. Called "Mahoro," the android is a general-purpose android for automating lab work that previously had to be done manually, Diginfo.tv reported. The report said the android, co-developed by Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) and automation giant Yaskawa, can also do clinical tasks such as dispensing and culturing. "For example, to develop influenza drugs, we do infection trials every day, using virulent strains of influenza. This work is very hazardous, so it should be done by robots. We also have to do lots of tests with radioactive materials. Those should also be done by robots," it quoted the developers as saying. The report said Mahoro is more precise compared to human lab technicians in genetic amplification trials. It also needed half the time to get the job done, compared to its human counterparts. While the developers had tried building special-purpose robots, these become useless when trial procedures are modified or if scientists switch to different projects. Mahoro is presently sold by Nikkyo Technos, and is already being used at pharmaceutical companies and universities. The company plans to further enhance the safety of the robot, so it can work in coordination with people. 7-joint arm The android's arm has seven joints, compared to six for factory automation robots. With the seventh axis, elbow motion can be reproduced, the Diginfo.tv report said. Also, the report said the robot can be taught easily in a virtual space on a computer. The developers used a 3-D scanner to capture 3-D computer-aided design (CAD) data for the tools to be used. "When we input that to the computer, we create a virtual bench and a virtual robot. For example, if we want to take a tube to this hand position, all we need to do is click in that direction, and the robot's hand will go there. We also do collision simulations. Of course, we can freely change how various tools are arranged," the developers said. A separate article on tech site CNET said the robot was recently shown off at the Interphex pharmaceutical trade show in Tokyo. — LBG, GMA News