_applied sciences_  
_Editorial_  
System Concepts for Robots in Life Science Applications  
[PERSON] @  
Center for Life Science Automation, University Rostock, 18119 Rostock, Germany; [EMAIL_ADDRESS]; Tel. : +49-381-498-7800  
For a long time, robot-based automation solutions have found their way into industrial production and manufacturing. The field of industrial robots developed rapidly over the past few decades. The goals of automation using robots are to increase productivity, to reduce production costs and to improve product quality. In addition, people should be relieved of repetitive and ergonomically unhealthy activities or even protected from situations that are dangerous to humans. Although all of these goals and motivations can also be applied to life sciences laboratories, the level of automation in this area has so far been low. Applications in the pharmaceutical industry, especially in the area of drug development, are an exception. Drug discovery and development have been major drivers of developments in laboratory automation since the 1990s. Classic analytical or chemical laboratories (e.g., in quality control, food analysis or environmental monitoring), on the other hand, have so far been largely characterized by manual processes. Analytical measurement systems already have a high degree of automation. On the other hand, sample preparation procedures required prior to chemical-analytical measurement are usually only partially automated. Fully automated solutions are rare and are more likely to be found in large laboratories (such as medical diagnostics laboratories). Smaller laboratories and academic institutions only have a low degree of automation, which is due in particular to the high investment costs, the complex programming of the systems, and the frequently changing sample and application types. The increasing financial pressure, increasing number of samples due to official requirements or epidemic/pandemic situations, as well as a further increasing shortage of skilled workers also increase the need for automation of laboratory processes for classic laboratories in the life sciences. The choice of suitable automation solutions depends on the type of laboratory, the type and number of samples to be processed, and the structure of the underlying sample preparation processes. By definition, robots are \"reprogrammable, multifunctional manipulators designed to move material, parts, tools or specialized devices through variable programmed motions for the performance of a variety of tasks\" [1]. They consist of different joints and arm links that, together, form a kinematic chain. Depending on the number of joints, different degrees of freedom are possible. Robots are available in different configurations. Linear robots (also called Cartesian robots) only have translational joints and consist of several interconnected linear drive systems (TTT). They have three degrees of freedom and a positioning accuracy that remains constant over the entire work area. They are used extensively in laboratory automation, especially in liquid handling systems. Cylindrical robots have one rotary and two translational joints (RTT). They are characterized by a relatively large range (depending on the length of the translational axis) as well as a high rotational speed and have 3-4 degrees of freedom. A typical representative is the Zymark (Zymark, Hopkinton, MA, USA), which was one of the first robots in the field of laboratory automation. A configuration with two rotary and one translational joint (RRT) is called a horizontal articulated arm robot. These robots can move very quickly and have a cylindrical design. They are also known as SCARA (Selective Compliance Assembly Robot) robots. Typical representatives with four DOFs are the Epson Spider and the systems of the SCARA-Tseries (Epson, Meerbusch, Germany). Vertical swivel arm robots (articulated robots) only have rotary joints, enable complex paths to be traveled and are extremely flexible.