BioBright brings the internet of things to the lab.

Biobright_logoA digital revolution is transforming scientific research into a more open, more interconnected, more global, and more data-driven endeavor. Many of these changes are driven by new digital infrastructure.

But science is also done in the laboratory and in the field. Experimentalist need to prepare solutions, calibrate complex instruments, and make measurements on samples. This more down to earth aspect of research has gotten a bit less attention from open science and digital science enthusiasts. However new approaches and new tools may improve the way we do research in the lab. A handful of digital science companies are already thinking how digitalization and connection to the internet can improve the way we use scientific instruments. For instance Transcriptic and Emerald Cloud Lab have installed armies of robots in their Silicone Valley warehouse (or at least that is how I imagine it) that are awaiting your orders to perform experiments. The results are then delivered directly to your computer screen.

BioBright, a startup out of MIT and Harvard University , wants to connect our lab instruments. The idea is that connecting sensors to your instruments, even the most simple one, would give you more control and a better understanding of the exact conditions in which the experiment was done.

weather-1216041_640Practically, BioBright is working on a collection of sensors and software solutions that can be associated to the most common lab instruments. These extra pieces of data could provide the experimentalist with precious details about the environment in which the experiment was done, making it easier to troubleshoot or reproduce the experiment. BioBright has already mentioned connecting thermometers, but other sensors such as hydrometers, motion sensors, and light sensors could also be useful. Eventually, these measurements could be automatically associated to the data generated by the instrument, then transmitted and archived in electronic lab notebook.

BioBright is one of the first to bring the internet of things (or internet of instruments as mentioned by this Techcrunch article) to the research laboratories. It has taken years for web 2.0 technologies to reach researchers. But perhaps BioBright and others related initiatives such as TetraScience, are early signs that innovative connected scientific instruments will be developed alongside the recent and very trendy connected home technologies (and not 10 years later).

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  1. Pingback: Keep an eye on your lab with TetraScience | Connected Researchers

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