Pin Transfer Robot for Chemical Screening
Pin transfer operations are used in research laboratories to replicate the contents of microplates which are utilized in high-throughput screening to identify new drugs of interest to researchers. This robot automates this pin transfer process through use of a 3D open-source hardware gantry, which improves accuracy and repeatability of results. The robot has a dual end effector consisting of a pin tool and a parallel gripper. This solution is cheaper and more capable than other liquid handling adaptation implementations available on the market, allowing scientists to program multiple pin transfer operations at a time. Some of the robot’s important prototype characteristics include a total weight less than 20lbs, dimensions suitable for that of a typical bio-safety cabinet, a brief pin transfer cycle time, a utilization of 3 wash solvents and has a drying fan and can perform up to 8 pin transfer operations without assistance or intervention.
Chris Clifford is a 23-year old receiving his B.S. in Electrical Engineering with a Bioengineering minor. His chemical screening experience gained during an internship at the Mayo Clinic inspired this senior design project. After graduation, he plans on matriculating into a PhD program in the fall of 2022 where he hopes to continue his research of type 1 diabetes.
Dominic Simon is a 23-year old Computer Engineering major who will be graduating this fall. He will continue his education at the University of Central Florida in the spring when he begins working toward his doctorate, with research focus on computer vision networks and their applications.
Brenden Morton is a 23-year old graduating Computer Engineer who plans to begin a graduate program focusing on Computer Systems and VLSI at the University of Central Florida in the Spring of 2022.
Yousef Abdelsalam is currently a senior at the University of Central Florida. He plans to graduate with his Bachelor’s of Science in Computer Engineering in Fall of 2021. Upon graduating, he intends on pursuing a Master’s degree and working as a Software Engineer in industry. His interests include advanced data structures and algorithms design, mechatronics, embedded programming, and VLSI.