DIY BioBot & OpenTrons App

BETA release of our liquid handling robot and app. 

Hello from the OpenTrons team!

It is an exciting day! We have been getting ready to show you all the open-source DIY liquid handling robot we have been developing at Genspace for a long time. Couldn’t be more excited to announce the DIY BioBot 1.0 to the DIYBio list!

We are hosting the BOM, control app, assembly instructions, and getting-started guide on Synbiota: Check out how you can make one yourself for under $2000USD!

Hardware: All the parts for a DIY BioBot are off the shelf (buy them from OpenBuilds or Inventables, etc) or 3D printed (print in ABS -- stronger than PLA and autoclavable), so you can make it all yourself. You use your own hand micropipette for the liquid handling -- with most pipette brands, every size, any number of channels will fit in the BioBot with minimal modification.

Electronics: BioBot uses the TinyG motor controller, an awesome piece of tech from Syntheos, to run the robot’s six stepper motors.

Software: We are using Cordova for this BETA version of the OpenTrons control app: HTML5 interface on top of an Android plug-in sends the TinyG motor controller JSON wrapped g-code over Bluetooth serial. The source code is right here.

We are also working on an open BLE service for automation modules -- things like centrifuges, incubators, spectrometers, etc -- as part of the OpenTrons automation platform. We are hoping that other developers will be interested in building on the OpenTrons with their own modules and tools!

OpenTrons’ mission is to provide open, affordable, and easy to use automation equipment and empower a new generation of biodevelopers with the tools to change modern biotech. To that end, we are spending the summer working with factories to develop a plug-and-play BioBot liquid handler that we will be selling for under $2000 starting in 2015 -- keep an eye out for our crowdfunding/presale campaign this November!

Please dont hesitate to reach out to info@opentrons.com with any questions, comments, ideas, advice, to be added to the early-bird sales list, or whatever! We are always interested in hearing what the community has to say.

Thanks!

Will