Rick Wierenga is creator of PyLabRobot, an open-source, hardware-agnostic Python SDK that's lowering the barriers to lab automation for scientists, startups and hackers.
See below for episode links, chapters, and our socials. Hosted by Nabil Laoudji.
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Episode Links:
Chapters:
- (00:00) - Preview & Introduction
- (03:33) - Rick's Serendipitous Foray Into Lab Automation
- (07:00) - Why AWS for Biology
- (09:17) - Understanding Liquid Handling Robots
- (10:49) - Generic Robotics Stack
- (13:20) - Robot Automation With PyLabRobot
- (15:07) - The Community Building PyLabRobot
- (16:54) - Why A Big Pharma Would Support PyLabRobot
- (18:36) - PyTorch: An Open Source Inspiration
- (20:32) - Sharing Technology In A Competitive Industry
- (23:11) - Supported Device Ecosystem
- (25:49) - Surprises in Device Integration
- (27:54) - Reverse Engineering 101
- (31:26) - How Useful Are Github CoPilot, Codex, LLMS for Reverse Engineering
- (34:34) - How Device Manufacturers, Automation Experts, Are Reacting to PyLabRobot
- (39:17) - Open Source Efforts and Device Safety
- (41:11) - How PyLabRobot Enables Sharing Protocols, Reproducibility
- (45:03) - Creating a 3D Scanner From a Liquid Handler
- (48:49) - Supporting Self-Driving Labs
- (54:49) - How PyLabRobot Will Evolve
- (55:40) - Automating Flow Cytometry
- (58:17) - How To Contribute and Connect
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