Introducing Mobile Collaborative Robots into Bioprocessing Environments: Personalised Drug Manufacturing and Environmental Monitoring

Abstract

Personalised therapeutic drugs are the future of the medical drug sector. For manufacturers, this will require the flexibility to produce many different unique batches within a given facility. This research paper aims to demonstrate the potential of mobile collaborative robots for improving current manufacturing practices in personalised therapeutics. The benefits and challenges of introducing robots in biologics are explored, including current practices, limitations, likely future practices, and the market outlook. Experiments demonstrating the application of a mobile collaborative robot to perform three different routine tasks is presented. These experiments include the transport of centrifugal tubes, manipulation of infusion bags, and scanning of Petri dishes for environmental monitoring. The investigations highlight the potential of collaborative mobile robotic platforms for automating the routine tasks carried out within the biomanufacturing sector.