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Scientists from the University of Liverpool have introduced a robotic colleague who has been working nonstop in his laboratory during the shutdown.
The £ 100,000 programmable researcher learns from his results to refine his experiments.
“It can work autonomously, so I can run experiments from home,” said Benjamin Burger, one of the developers.
Such technology could make scientific discovery “a thousand times faster,” scientists say.
A new report from the Royal Society of Chemistry presents a “national post-Covid research strategy,” which uses robotics, artificial intelligence, and advanced computing as part of a suite of technologies that “must be urgently adopted” to help scientists to distance themselves socially. seek solutions to global challenges.
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Robotic chemist
Robot chemist working in the Liverpool lab
The robotic scientist is embarking on a series of tests to find a catalyst that can speed up the reaction that takes place inside solar cells.
But it could, according to Professor Andy Cooper, the materials scientist who has put the robot to work in his laboratory, be used in the fight against Covid-19.
“We have had a lot of interest [in the robot] from labs doing Covid research, “he told BBC News.
“Covid, climate change: there are many problems that really need international cooperation. Therefore, our vision is that we could have robots like this all over the world connected by a centralized brain that can be anywhere. We have not done it yet” . – this is the first example, but that is absolutely what we would like to do. ”
Socially distant science
Today, in a world in which scientists also need to limit their time in the laboratory and maintain the social distance between them, the scientific robot has become important.
“You don’t get bored, you don’t get tired, you work 24 hours and you don’t need a vacation,” joked Dr. Burger.
On a more serious note, he said that the robot had transformed the speed at which it could conduct investigations. “It can easily go through thousands of samples,” he said, “so it frees me up time to focus on innovation and new solutions.”
Like robotics designed for space research, machines like this could also perform riskier experiments, in harsher laboratory settings or using more toxic substances.
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According to Deirdre Black, head of research and innovation at the Royal Society of Chemistry, that is why UK science needs to incorporate new technologies into its infrastructure.
“It is about humans taking advantage of all these digital technologies, so they can go faster: discover and innovate faster, and explore bigger and more complex problems, such as decarbonization, prevention and treatment of diseases, and make our air is cleaner, “he told BBC News.
So does this mean that while many scientists have been locked up, machines have come to take their jobs?
“Absolutely not,” said Dr. Black. “Science will always need people.”
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