Automation has existed for many decades and has enabled humans to achieve things greater than by their means alone. Once a farming dominated species we have evolved to manufacturing and are continuing to evolve to a service oriented society. It is during this evolution that the automation initiatives have matured and propelled us even faster towards this paradigm. Stepper motors and control systems have evolved to be available to all at low costs; computers are in almost every appliance. The new millennium has come and we are in the true technology age.

What is Automation?
Automation is an electro-mechanical means of performing a task that was previously done manually or simply not done because it was too dangerous for a human to be subjected to that process environment. All automation is supported by underlying software/firmware to ensure that the electro-mechanical devices are coordinated in their operations.

Life Science Automation is an industry dedicated to providing electro-mechanical devices that enable process that were previously done on the laboratory bench manually, to be done by automated equipment. Examples of this automation include pipetting. Once done and still done using manual pipettes (seeThermo Finnpipette ), this operation can be automated using an automated pipettor such as those provided for by Beckman Coulter and Velocity 11.

The gap between fully automating a process and a semi- automated process can be closed using supporting peripherals such as robotic arms, extension peripherals and controlling system software. Control system software is a top level software that looks at process workflows and integrates multiple automation units in coordinated fashion so that a fully automated process can be achieved.

When manual processes are automated many benefits can be realized. Lower health insurance claims, consistent data output, low to zero cross contamination of valuable samples and increased asset utilization are just a few of the many benefits automation can provide. With new technologies emerging yearly the adaptation of automation in scientific research has vastly changed the way new chemical entities are created and distributed. The next few years will be exciting as the industry matures and even greater possibilities arise.

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