University of Liverpool
Assembly Line
AI robots work together to perform autonomous synthesis and analysis
Two AI-driven mobile robots have been programmed to autonomously and cooperatively perform and analyse chemical reactions. A team led by Andrew Cooper, at the University of Liverpool, UK, has developed a workflow incorporating an advanced AI decision-making model that interprets data from multiple analytical tools to improve experimental design. The researchers behind the work believe it offers the potential for rapid discoveries in chemical manufacturing and drug discovery research.
Cooper’s team has now expanded the capabilities of their system to tackle three challenges in exploratory chemistry: conducting reactions, product analysis and data-driven decision making. They constructed a seamless synthesis to characterisation workflow using 1.75m tall mobile robots to operate a Chemspeed ISynth synthesis module, an ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometer (UPLC-MS) and a benchtop nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer. Notably, the robots are collaborative, meaning they can work alongside humans. ‘Labs are designed to be used by humans and if you hardwire things into a fixed workflow then it makes human cohabitation difficult. Here we have these instruments in the lab and students can use them while the robot isn’t,’ adds Cooper.