Development of Control Software Architecture for an Automated Specimen Processing Robotic

The project with Dynacon Inc., a company applying automation and robotic technology to microbiology industry, aims to design control software that drives an automated specimen processing robotic system. This robotic system automates the processes of handling and labelling biological specimen containers. It is used to increase the productivity of microbiology laboratories and quality of their results. This robotic system controller handles hundreds of specimen containers in a single run. The task requires operating tens of motors simultaneously, which increases the complexity of the controller software significantly. Moreover the system motion patterns should be customizable by the operator instead of the current factory customization. The project targets the development of the complex control software without compromising reliability, customizability and performance. The control software will run on a central processor and will communicate with the motors’ controllers in order to achieve the required functionality. An efficient design will guarantee the reliability, ease of testing and upgradeability of the system.

Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Magdy Salama

Student:

Wafik Moussa

Partner:

Dynacon Inc.

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Life sciences

University:

University of Waterloo