Patent ID: 7270784

Claim:
An automated high-throughput biology laboratory, comprising: a plurality of removable modules having module controllers, the plurality of removable modules being arranged in a layout and each module capable of being added or removed from the layout, at least one module being a dispenser module capable of dispensing one or more liquids into one or more wells of a high-density microplate and at least one module being an assay signal detection module capable of detection and measurement of physical signals of an assay in the wells of the high-density microplate; one or more plate transports located near a center of the layout capable of transporting the high-density microplates between the plurality of removable modules within the layout; and a system controller in communication with the transports and the module controllers in the layout, the system controller having one or more stored codes configured to communicate with the module controllers to operate any of the plurality of removable modules in the layout and the system controller being capable of polling the status of the module controllers to determine when the removable modules are inserted into or removed from the layout and adjusting the stored codes needed in response to the insertion or removal of a removable module from the layout.