Award details

The Robot Scientist as an e-Science Exemplar

Reference	BB/D006503/1
Principal Investigator / Supervisor	Professor Ross King
Co-Investigators / Co-Supervisors	Dr Amanda Clare
Institution	Aberystwyth University
Department	Computer Science
Funding type	Research
Value (£)	61,531
Status	Completed
Type	Research Grant
Start date	01/06/2005
End date	01/06/2007
Duration	24 months

Abstract

We propose to develop our new 'Robot Scientist' as an exemplar e-Science system. This will involve building Web Services middleware for the Robot Scientist, and developing the protocols and databases for the complete capture and curation of all information (hypotheses, goals, data, meta-data, etc.) about the scientific experiments executed by the Robot Scientist. Our new Robot Scientist, to be commissioned in the Summer of 2005, will be a high-throughput laboratory system capable of >1,000 experiments a day. It will be able to fully autonomously execute cycles of cell growth experiments in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The design of this Robot Scientist is extremely complicated both in terms of hardware and software, and it is state-of-the-art of laboratory automation - based on extensive discussions with manufacturers we are unaware of a more complicated intergraded laboratory system in the U.K. (academic or commercial). The Robot Scientist system will provide a unique platform to develop e-Science methodologies because: 1) As it fully automates scientific experiments, all the components (hypotheses, experimental actions, data, etc.) of the scientific process can be captured and digitally curated; without any of the sociological problems associated with trying to capture such data from human scientists. 2) The complexity of the Robot Scientist will provide an extremely challenging test of the applicability of Web Services middleware for laboratory robotics; for if the Web Services architecture can deal with this system, it is likely to be able to deal with most laboratory systems in the immediate future. For the Robot Scientist's biological application area, the automated formation of Systems Biology models of S. cerevisiae, the use of a Web Services architecture will have the advantages of adoption of a well designed standard: interoperability, stability, tool support, implementation re-use, error correction, etc. The use of e-Science standards for data and meta-data curation will also ensure the integrity of all the scientific results produced.

Summary

We have previously developed the first computer system that is capable of automating simple forms of scientific reasoning and experimentation - a 'Robot Scientist'. We are now in the process of building a new Robot Scientist which will be capable of automatically executing more than 1,000 experiments a day. Our proposal is to use this new robot system to demonstrate and test the application of two 'e-Science' ideas: the use of a special software architecture (Web Services) to build the interface between our Artificial Intelligence computer system and its laboratory equipment, and the use an ontology to help digitally preserve all possible information about scientific experiments. The term 'e-Science' refers to the development of computer standards and protocols to help scientists to work and collaborate easier to solve problems. The new Robot Scientist will be a good test-bed for testing Web Services for laboratory equipment because the complexity of the Robot Scientist makes its extremely challenging to write software to control it. The Robot Scientist is also good test-bed for experimental curation because in the Robot Scientist all aspects of science are explicit, including such things as hypotheses and goals which are notoriously difficult to obtain from human scientists.

Committee	Closed Committee - Engineering & Biological Systems (EBS)
Research Topics	X – not assigned to a current Research Topic
Research Priority	X – Research Priority information not available
Research Initiative	EDF (e-science Development Fund) (EDF) [2003-2005]
Funding Scheme	X – not Funded via a specific Funding Scheme

I accept the terms and conditions of use (opens in new window)

export PDF file

back to list new search