Nina Stawski
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2012–2014 · Joint BioEnergy Institute / Lawrence Berkeley Lab

PR-PR laboratory automation

At Lawrence Berkeley Lab, I worked on PR-PR, a laboratory automation platform. Its name is read as ‘par-par’, short for ‘programming a robot’.

The original idea came from a colleague. I built the software from a simple console tool into a more visual interface, helping biologists describe experiments and work with laboratory equipment. I learned a great deal of Python along the way.

This is a record of my work at the lab between 2012 and 2014. The screenshots and source code remain available; the old hosted demo is no longer linked.

PR-PR interface for entering an experimental protocol and selecting a robot platform.
PR-PR interface for entering an experimental protocol and selecting a robot platform.
PR-PR interface showing a submitted protocol and its generated output.
PR-PR interface showing a submitted protocol and its generated output.
Laboratory plate layout with rows of sample wells.
Laboratory plate layout with rows of sample wells.
Plate editor with sample wells and controls for configuring a plate.
Plate editor with sample wells and controls for configuring a plate.
Microfluidics editor with connected nodes representing a plate layout.
Microfluidics editor with connected nodes representing a plate layout.
Laboratory hardware used with the PR-PR project.
Laboratory hardware used with the PR-PR project.
Laboratory equipment connected to a computer running the PR-PR interface.
Laboratory equipment connected to a computer running the PR-PR interface.