In variants, a method for automated experimentation can include: determining experimental constraints, constructing a computational representation of the experiment, optimizing the computational representation subject to the experimental constraints, determining instructions for a laboratory robot based on the optimized computational representation, and/or any other suitable steps.

A server computer system connected to a first communications network and including: an instrument communications component configured to communicate with and control a plurality of biological reagent instruments using the first communications network; and a user interface component configured to cause user interface (UI) instances to be displayed by a client computer device connected by a second communications network to said server computer system;
wherein said UI instances control respective virtual pods representing one or more of said biological reagent instruments.

The method for automated experimentation can include: determining experimental constraints, constructing a computational representation of the experiment, optimizing the computational representation subject to the experimental constraints, determining instructions for a laboratory robot based on the optimized computational representation, and/or any other suitable steps. The system including: a laboratory robot system (e.g., a liquid handling robot system), a deck, a user interface, and/or any other suitable components.

In variants, a method for automated experimentation can include: determining experimental constraints, constructing a computational representation of the experiment, optimizing the computational representation subject to the experimental constraints, determining instructions for a laboratory robot based on the optimized computational representation, and/or any other suitable steps.

In variants, a method for automated experimentation can include: determining experimental constraints, constructing a computational representation of the experiment, optimizing the computational representation subject to the experimental constraints, determining instructions for a laboratory robot (e.g., a liquid handling robot) based on the optimized computational representation, and/or any other suitable steps.

A scalable laboratory and process automation platform comprising: a first module, the first module comprising: a first instrument housing, the first instrument housing comprising: a side shell; a bottom cover attached to the bottom of the side shell, the side shell generally comprising four walls; a top cover attached to the top of the side shell; a power port located in the side shell; an upstream daisy-chain connection port located in the side shell; a downstream daisy-chain connection port located in the side shell; the first instrument housing configured to house any component from the following group of mechanical or electrical components comprising: circuit boards, sensors, motors, solenoids, solenoid valves, rotary valves, heating assemblies, piston pump, fluidic control elements like pumps or valves, pneumatic control elements, air flow controllers, vacuum/air-pressure valves, air/gas pumps, vacuum pumps, piston pump modules, fluidic valves with a piston pump head to provide bidirectional pumping capability, air pressure supply and air flow controller and pneumatic valves being combined with a fluidic manifold and valves to provide a precision liquid and droplet dispensing platform; linear motion stages, rotary motion stages, linear motion module, pump head; sensor modules, computer vision modules, motion controller modules, dispensing modules, actuator modules, linear actuators, grippers, light sensors, fluorescence meters, photomultipliers, camera sensors, microscope heads, spectrometer units, mechanical actuators, cover removers for a microwell plate, thermal incubation modules, magnetic bead extraction modules, and mixing modules; a first circuit board located inside the first instrument housing and mounted to the bottom cover, the circuit board in communication with the power port, the upstream daisy-chain connection port, the downstream daisy-chain connection port, and the component. A scalable laboratory and process automation platform comprising: a meta-instrument housing, configured to house a plurality of modules; a backplane located in the meta-instrument housing; each of the plurality of modules comprising: an instrument housing, the first instrument housing configured to house any component from the following group of mechanical or electrical components comprising: circuit boards, sensors, motors, solenoids, solenoid valves, rotary valves, heating assemblies, piston pump, fluidic control elements like pumps or valves, pneumatic control elements, air flow controllers, vacuum/air-pressure valves, air/gas pumps, vacuum pumps, piston pump modules, fluidic valves with a piston pump head to provide bidirectional pumping capability, air press

A method for determining states of a laboratory automation device includes: receiving a log file from the laboratory automation device, the log file including entries of events that occurred during a procedure performed by the laboratory automation device, wherein the events have been created by components of the laboratory automation device and each entry includes at least an event time and an event type; providing a state machine of the laboratory automation device, the state machine encoding states of the laboratory automation device and transitions between the states, wherein each transition is starting at a state and points to another state and wherein each transition is associated with an entry scheme in the log file, the entry scheme including at least an event type; setting a current state of the laboratory automation device to a beginning state; moving through the entries of the log file along increasing event time and associating the entries with the current state; during the moving, when an entry scheme associated with a transition starting at the current state is identified in the log file, changing the current state to the state to which the transition (60) is pointing.