Lab Automation: Plug and Play
Charles D. Hawker, PhD, scientific director of Automation and Special Projects, discusses the Area Committee on Automation, which initiated the development of standards for laboratory automation. According to Dr. Hawker, plug and play, selecting automation elements from various vendors, was the main goal of the automation initiative, which resulted in five approved standards published between 2000 and 2001. Dr. Hawker discusses these standards, as well as the informatics influence and additional projects, in his article.
- In 2001, the scope of the Area Committee on Automation was expanded and its name changed to the Area Committee on Automation and Informatics. In part, this change was made since many of the newer projects being proposed as standards or guidelines were informatics related. See more
(Advance for Administrators of the Laboratory. “Automation Alert: Standards in Lab Automation: Enabling Plug and Play.” September 2007.)