A Purpose-Built Open Source Liquid Handler for Industry-Class Automated Experiments
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Abstract
The expanding scope of laboratory automation increasingly demands systems that can be tailored to specific experimental constraints, including footprint, timing, cost, and control. While open-source software has improved protocol flexibility, liquid-handling hardware itself remains largely closed, limiting the ability of academic and startup laboratories to build instruments around biological requirements rather than vendor defaults. Here, we present a fully open-source, purpose-built liquid-handling robot assembled from commercially available components and developed entirely in a research setting. The platform integrates open hardware, electronics, and a Python-based control stack compatible with PyLabRobot, exposing low-level motion dynamics and liquid-handling behaviors directly to experiment code. We validate the system using a high-throughput turbidostat workflow that requires rapid, closed-loop measurement and actuation to maintain microbial cultures at defined density setpoints. The robot sustains stable steady-state growth across approximately 200 cultures with heterogeneous growth dynamics. A replica build completed by two lab members in approximately one week confirms that the platform can be reproduced from its bill of materials and assembly guide. Its compact footprint and use of off-the-shelf components make it suitable for rapid, parallel deployment in settings such as public health emergencies or by distributed laboratories. Together, these results demonstrate that industry-class liquid handlers can be custom-built for specific experimental goals, establishing a blueprint for open, purpose-driven hardware development across research and industrial automation contexts.
Abstract Figure
Open Liquid Handler (OLH) Design Goals.
Left : Design goals for a purpose-built platform for time-sensitive, closed-loop biological workflows, emphasizing high-accuracy dosing (low variability liquid handling), rapid integrated measurement (plate deck and isolated workspace), customizable deck and peripheral options, compact footprint with high throughput, containment via an enclosed wet workspace for biosafety and sterility, and a replicable build using off-the-shelf OEM components with open design files. Right: Open Liquid Handler design and physical implementation, with aerial and front views highlighting the enclosed cabinet and the working envelope over a compact deck.
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Upon final publication, we will release a complete open build package designed to enable full replication and modification of the OLH platform. This package will include mechanical CAD files and 3D-printable part models, a detailed bill of materials with catalog numbers and supplier information, wiring diagrams and I/O mapping tables for all electrical and control components, step-by-step assembly and calibration documentation, and the full source code for hardware control, experiment scheduling, and data analysis. We are finalizing this documentation for public release and it is not yet posted in full due to the scope of the materials involved. For status updates or early access to in-progress documentation, contact emma.chory{at}duke.edu.
Thank you for sharing the Open Liquid Handler, it's really inspiring to see a platform like …
Upon final publication, we will release a complete open build package designed to enable full replication and modification of the OLH platform. This package will include mechanical CAD files and 3D-printable part models, a detailed bill of materials with catalog numbers and supplier information, wiring diagrams and I/O mapping tables for all electrical and control components, step-by-step assembly and calibration documentation, and the full source code for hardware control, experiment scheduling, and data analysis. We are finalizing this documentation for public release and it is not yet posted in full due to the scope of the materials involved. For status updates or early access to in-progress documentation, contact emma.chory{at}duke.edu.
Thank you for sharing the Open Liquid Handler, it's really inspiring to see a platform like this being built from scratch and implemented in the lab! Whenever the full repository is released, it would be great to see some more experiment details on the high throughput turbidostat. Specifically, the organisms being grown, the media types, plate types, how exactly the shaker was implemented, and OD data for your experiments. I look forward to learning more about the OLH when the build package is released!
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