I realized that giving people unconstrained access over their laboratory devices poses a serious safety risk to them. For this reason, all PyLabRobot development is halted until the necessary measures are implemented, including the following:
- Liquid handling robot doors must be locked before commands are executed. Disabling cover control will no longer be allowed.
- Plate reader data must be sent to a remote server to verify data integrity.
- 1-indexing is clearer for non computer scientists than 0-indexing, so from now on PLR will use 1-indexing everywhere.
- Temperature controllers will only be allowed to operate within a safe range of 15-35 degrees Celsius.
- Shakers must shake at a safe speed.
- Pumps will require a once-every-5-minutes HITL deadman check to avoid spillovers.
- Linux operating systems have been deemed too difficult for our users to understand. Linux’ freedoms and complications take time away from focussing on the important stuff. As a preventative measure, PLR will no longer work on Linux.
- There are no known safety risks for scales, and so no safety precautions can be implemented. Obviously, we cannot have devices with zero safety measures, so unfortunately support for these devices have to be removed.
- Only certified PyLabRobot Protocol Engineers will be allowed to write new protocols.
- We will build an ML-powered camera system to ensure that operators are wearing adequate protective gear: lab coat, safety goggles, face shield, double gloves, etc.
- All current and future users will be required to write a safety document, including a thorough risk analysis, before they can download or use PyLabRobot. A representative will call you to discuss this matter soon. Expect this process, including any necessary revisions, to take at least 8 weeks.
- The previous safety measure also means new users will have to call someone before they will get a chance to use PLR. Simply cloning from GitHub is nice but too dangerous.
- In fear of users circumventing these important measures or otherwise tampering with the software, PyLabRobot will no longer be open source; it will only be distributed as a closed-source binary to those who successfully completed their safety document.
It is uncertain whether PyLabRobot can remain free of charge during this process. Please treat this message with the seriousness it deserves.