automation

Automation of Crystallization by an Academic Group

Jean-Claude Bradley — Sun, 04 May 2008 08:57:54 -0700

Description

Alastair Florence and colleagues report on the use of an automatic reactor platform from ChemSpeed (1) to accelerate the crystallization of organic molecules (2):

The principal gain over manual crystallization stems from the fact that automation enhances productivity, allowing the search for physical forms to be conducted systematically and reproducibly over a finer grid (e.g. larger solvent library) than might be accessible manually, increasing the probability of observing new forms. In practise, making due time allowance for set-up, sample retrieval and cleaning between experiments, experience has shown that 32 crystallizations per working day is sustainable. Further opportunity for productivity enhancement comes from integration of the platform control PC with an electronic laboratory information management system (LIMS) to provide effective archival, search and retrieval facilities for the recorded control parameters associated with large numbers of crystallizations.

Although High Throughput Synthesis (HTS) has become an integral part of the drug discovery process in companies, larger libraries generally come at a cost to purity and full product characterization.(3) There is still much room available to adopt more automation to the practice of organic chemistry, especially in academic labs. Koppitz and Eis predict (3):

Aside from the technology, we are now entering an era in which chemists working in AMC (Automated Medicinal Chemistry) will probably become more chemistry-oriented than they have been in the past decade, when the focus was on developing and implementing a robust and reliable technology platform. In this context, more chemistry related challenges, such as the discovery and exploitation of new structural motifs in chemical space, development of new chemistries and their application in library synthesis, will hopefully be addressed and solved.

This signal points to more involvement by academia into automating chemistry processes typically done manually. This is significant because there is a greater probability that results will be shared with the scientific community, compared to similar work done in industry.

Eventually it is possible that automation will enable even the open execution of chemistry experiments by leveraging crowdsourcing. (4)

Future of chemistry

Source

1) http://www.chemspeed.com
2) http://www.chemspeed.com/files/publications/sa/pa/2006_crystallization_o...
3) http://www.chemspeed.com/files/publications/sa/pa/2006_Automated%20medic...
4) http://precedings.nature.com/documents/1505/version/1

Robotic laboratories are becoming commonplace, so computational data analysis has to as well

Andrew Walkingshaw — Fri, 02 May 2008 12:29:03 -0700

Description

It's not news that robots are better at routine experiments than postdocs are: Wikipedia points out, on the page on high-throughput screening, that

Automation is an important element in HTS's usefulness. Typically, an integrated robot system consisting of from one or more robots transports assay microplates from station to station for sample and reagent addition, mixing, incubation, and finally readout or detection. An HTS system can usually prepare, incubate, and analyze many plates simultaneously, further speeding the data-collection process. HTS robots currently exist which can test up to 100,000 compounds per day (Hann 2004). The term uHTS or ultra high throughput screening refers (circa 2008) to screening in excess of 100,000 compounds per day.

No scientist can review this many results by hand, but these methods are medically and technologically very important:

High-throughput screening methods have become essential for sifting through large chemical libraries in search of drug candidates, and several sensitive and reliable analytical techniques have been specifically adapted to high-throughput measurements of biocatalytic activity. High-throughput biocatalytic assay platforms thus enable rapid screening.

So to take advantage of the advances in experimental technique, we need advances in informatics to let us deal with this torrent of data.

Future of chemistry

Source

http://nihroadmap.nih.gov/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-throughput_screening
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpa.2006.02.033

Europe launches its first re-supply ship (Jules Verne ATV) to the ISS

Matt Daniels — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 23:41:15 -0700

Description

Europe launches its first re-supply ship (Jules Verne ATV) to the ISS

9 March 2008
ESA PR 15-2008. Jules Verne, the first of the European Space Agency%u2019s Automated Transfer Vehicles (ATV), a new series of autonomous spaceships designed to re-supply and re-boost the International Space Station (ISS), was successfully launched into low Earth orbit by an Ariane 5 vehicle this morning.

During the coming weeks, it will manoeuvre in order to rendezvous and eventually dock with the ISS to deliver cargo, propellant, water and oxygen to the orbital outpost.

The most complex European spacecraft ever

Jules Verne ATV is now circling the Earth in the same orbital plane as the ISS but at an altitude of only 260 km, compared to 345 km for the Station. The vehicle is under constant monitoring by the dedicated ATV Control Centre in Toulouse, France.

Located within the premises of the French Space Agency CNES, the ATV Control Centre will ensure flight control throughout the mission in coordination with the ISS mission control centres in Moscow and Houston. After having demonstrated safety manoeuvres in free flight, the ATV will perform orbital ‘phasing’ manoeuvres in order to rendezvous with the ISS for a first docking slot scheduled for 3 April after the departure of NASA’s Space Shuttle Endeavour.

Named after the famous French 19th century visionary and author, the Jules Verne ATV is the largest and most sophisticated spacecraft ever developed in Europe, combining the functions of an autonomous free-flying platform, a manoeuvrable space vehicle and a space station module. About 10 m high with a diameter of 4.5 m, it weighed 19,357 kg at launch. It incorporates a 45-m3 pressurised module, derived from the Columbus pressure shell, and a Russian-built docking system, similar to those used on Soyuz manned ferries and on the Progress re-supply ship. About three times larger than its Russian counterpart, it can also deliver about three times more cargo.

The ATV is also the very first spacecraft in the world designed to conduct automated docking in full compliance with the very tight safety constraints imposed by human spaceflight operations. It features high accuracy navigation systems and a flight software far more complex than that used on Ariane 5.

Physics & Space Science

Source

http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMDYOK26DF_index_0.html

SpaceX: Development of Dragon Spacecraft

Matt Daniels — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 13:43:15 -0800

Description

Dragon Overview

The Dragon spacecraft is made up of a pressurized capsule and unpressurized trunk used for Earth to LEO transport of pressurized cargo, unpressurized cargo, and/or crew members. Initiated internally by SpaceX in 2005, Dragon will be utilized to fulfill our NASA COTS contract for demonstration of cargo re-supply of the ISS.

The Dragon capsule is comprised of 3 main elements: the Nosecone, which protects the vessel and the docking adaptor during ascent; the Pressurized Section, which houses the crew and/or pressurized cargo; and the Service Section, which contains avionics, the RCS system, parachutes, and other support infrastructure.

In addition an unpressurized trunk is included, which provides for the stowage of unpressurized cargo and will support Dragon’s solar arrays and thermal radiators.

Dragon Highlights:

* Fully autonomous rendezvous and docking with manual override capability in crewed configuration
* Pressurized Cargo/Crew capacity of >2500 kg and 14 cubic meters
* Down-cargo capability (equal to up-cargo)
* Supports up to 7 passengers in Crew configuration
* Two-fault tolerant avionics system with extensive heritage
* Reaction control system with 18 MMH/NTO thrusters designed and built in-house; these thrusters are used for both attitude control and orbital maneuvering
* 1200 kg of propellant supports a safe mission profile from sub-orbital insertion to ISS rendezvous to reentry
* Integral common berthing mechanism, with LIDS or APAS support if required
* Designed for water landing under parachute for ocean recovery
* Lifting re-entry for landing precision & low-g’s
* Ablative, high-performance heat shield and sidewall thermal protection

To ensure a rapid transition from cargo to crew capability, the cargo and crew configurations of Dragon are almost identical, with the exception of the crew escape system, the life support system and onboard controls that allow the crew to take over control from the flight computer when needed. This focus on commonality minimizes the design effort and simplifies the human rating process, allowing systems critical to Dragon crew safety and ISS safety to be fully tested on uncrewed demonstration flights.

For cargo launches the inside of the capsule is outfitted with a modular cargo rack system designed to accommodate pressurized cargo in standard sizes and form factors. For crewed launches, the interior is outfitted with crew couches, controls with manual override capability and upgraded life-support.

Physics & Space Science

Source

http://www.spacex.com/dragon.php

Application of AI to Global Trade and Logistics

Alex Soojung-Kim Pang — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 11:10:30 -0700

Description

The application of artificial intelligence to commerce may make trade and logistics more efficient.

Automated trading is already commonplace in financial markets. Within 20 years, a significant proportion of day-to-day transactions may involve negotiation between artificially intelligent software trading agents. Over this period, more and more of the minute-to-minute/second-to-second decisions that enable liquidity in financial markets and mobility in logistics systems will be delegated to AI software agents. As global markets and logistics systems grow more complex, AI may be applied extensively, first by producers and later by consumers, to automate parts of the decision making process that currently require humans.

Initially, these systems will be developed and introduced by firms that seek to gain a competitive advantage over human opponents. For example, recent research has shown that well-designed agents can consistently beat humans in many kinds of markets. Human traders may disappear altogether from many global markets.

Artificial intelligence is already widely used in the largest and most complex global logistics systems, such as those operated by Tankers International and UPS. Over the next two decades, these technologies will increasingly be available to small and medium-sized enterprises. Conceivably, as these two systems, artificially intelligent trade and logistics, develop in tandem, they could fuse into a single global system of trade and commerce run by software and machines, watched over by human supervisors.

The trend towards automation of transactions will progress most rapidly in sectors that already exhibit a high degree of standardization. For instance, transportation of all types (freight, passengers, data) will rapidly employ AI to maximize network efficiency. However, the application of AI will not be appropriate in all markets, especially those that require extensive communication between the sales force and the customer.

This will be enabled by:

Further development of artificial intelligence
Expansion of grid computing
Further development of complex economic modeling
Globalisation
Deregulation of financial markets

Early indicators include:

Organisation in 2002 of Trading Agent Competition, a robust international scientific competition in trading agent software
Growing use of AI in financial trading, retail e-commerce, and global logistics and supply chain management
DayJet's plans to use agent-based models to provide demand-sensitive pricing and flight and crew scheduling for air charter service

What to watch:

Affluent members of technologically advanced societies begin to use personal shopping agents.

automation

Automation of Crystallization by an Academic Group

Description

Source

Robotic laboratories are becoming commonplace, so computational data analysis has to as well

Description

Source

Europe launches its first re-supply ship (Jules Verne ATV) to the ISS

Description

Source

SpaceX: Development of Dragon Spacecraft

Description

Source

Application of AI to Global Trade and Logistics

Description

Signals