Integrating Life Sciences with Coding and Robotics

Low-cost pipetting robots with research grade performance bridge mechatronics and wet-science education.

PROJECT TYPE

Tangible/virtual interfaces for learning

TEAM MEMBERS

Paulo Blikstein
Engin Bumbacher

Ingmar Reidel-Kruse

CONTACT INFO

paulob@tc.columbia.edu

PROJECT DATES

2018 – on-going

While playful robotics such as Lego Mindstorms significantly support education initiatives in mechatronics and programming, equivalent connections to the life sciences do not currently exist. To close this gap, we developed Lego-based pipetting robots that reliably handle liquid volumes from 1 ml down to the subĪ¼l range and that operate on standard laboratory plasticware, such as cuvettes and multiwell plates. These robots can support a range of science and chemistry experiments for education and even research. Using standard, low-cost household consumables, programming pipetting routines, and modifying robot designs, we enabled a rich activity space. We successfully tested these activities in afterschool settings with elementary, middle, and high school students. The simplest robot can be directly built from the widely used Lego Education EV3 core set alone, and this publication includes building and experiment instructions to set the stage for dissemination and further development in education and research.