IvoryOS: an interoperable operating system for flexible self-driving laboratories

Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) are essential for providing a user-friendly experience to chemists employing Self-Driving Laboratories (SDLs). However, building an interoperable GUI is challenging due to the diverse layouts, frameworks and functionalities of SDLs, which often limit the use of existing GUIs on these SDLs. In this work, we introduce ivoryOS, a configuration-free software that automatically generates a snapshot of an SDL Python script, capturing all device instances, functionalities and argument information. This snapshot allows for the automatic creation of interactive forms that enable visual programming for control and workflow design across any SDLs. We demonstrate an example use case with the Hein Group Purification Platform Optimizing Solubility based Experimentation (PurPOSE) platform. This plug-and-play operating system for SDLs streamlines robot and lab hardware interaction, democratizing access to advanced SDLs for a broader range of scientists.