uLab Duo: two arms, one rhythm

In operation

uLab Duo is in daily routine use at MEDILYS, the laboratory group of Asklepios Kliniken. The requirements there are typical of a hospital laboratory: high sample volumes around the clock, scarce specialist staff and no tolerance for errors in allocation.

• MEDILYS Laborgesellschaft – laboratory group of Asklepios Kliniken
• Asklepios Klinik Bad Oldesloe
• Asklepios Nordseeklinik Westerland/Sylt

We are happy to put you in touch with users who can share their experience from routine operation.

Two arms, one rhythm

Some laboratory workflows need two hands. Holding and opening. Picking up and sorting at the same time. A single-arm system has to put things down in between — and loses precisely the time it was meant to save.

uLab Duo is the dual-arm configuration of the uLab technology platform. Two arms work in a synchronised, shared rhythm and map complex sorting and preparation processes instead of breaking them into separate steps.

What Duo is built for

• Synchronised processes: both arms work into each other within the same workflow, not one after the other.
• Sorting and preparation: changing sample types, high volumes, tight time windows.
• Centrifugation workflows: loading, unloading, passing on — with no interim placement.
• Continuous operation: designed for 24/7, not for the demonstration slot.

Integration and safety

• Plug and play: installed without structural changes, minimal footprint.
• Integrated sensor technology and AI-supported recognition of sample vessels.
• LIS interfaces to CLSI LIS1-A (formerly ASTM E1381), plus a REST API that is already implemented; SiLA is in preparation, OPC UA is used on a project-specific basis.
• Safety: full ISO conformity, certified safety zones for human-machine collaboration.
• Fast commissioning: technical audit, step-by-step migration, system handover.

No fallback. No intervention. Simply: operation.

This is the standard we ask to be measured against: an autonomous robotic laboratory that runs for weeks — without equipment faults, without downtime, without anyone having to step in at night. In existing installations this is no longer a vision but daily operation. It requires defined workflows and a clean device connection; under those conditions we commit to it, under others we do not.

Your robot. Your data.

Processing runs on the system in the laboratory. A permanent internet connection is not required for operation, and closed laboratory networks are possible. Whatever operating data is produced stays with you: you decide on storage, analysis and deletion, and every task is traceable through uGo+.

Buy or rent: Robot-as-a-Service

uLab Duo is available for purchase or as Robot-as-a-Service. Renting shifts the cost from the capital budget to the operating budget and makes a pilot possible without an investment request having to pass through several committees first.

Try it first

Before a robot moves in your facility, your workflow has already run at ours: at our training centres in Stuhr (laboratory and diagnostics) and Gelsenkirchen (hospital and care) we rehearse your workflow on a real set-up. Book a training-centre visit.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between uLab Duo and uLab Uno?

uLab Duo works with two arms in a shared rhythm. This makes it possible to run workflows that need a second hand: holding and opening at the same time, synchronised sorting, more complex preparation steps.

Which workflows justify Duo?

Wherever a single arm would inevitably have to put something down in between: sorting and preparation processes with high sample volumes, centrifugation workflows and night operation with changing sample types.

Does the system really run through without intervention?

In existing installations, yes — for weeks in continuous operation, without fallback and without manual intervention. This requires defined workflows and a clean device connection.

How long does commissioning take?

The process is staged: technical audit, step-by-step migration, then system handover. The installation itself requires no structural changes.

Who owns the operating data?

You do. Processing runs on the system in the laboratory, and a permanent cloud connection is not required for operation.

Technical data

For anyone who has to do the maths before deciding. Whatever is missing here, we send as a full document on request.

Performance

• Throughput: up to 170* tubes per hour of operation
• Sample singulation: 70 to 450 samples per hour
• Autonomy: up to 16 hours of full autonomy without supervision; continuous operation is technically possible
• Availability: over 98 per cent in autonomous operation
• Recognition: cap colour over 95 per cent, barcodes from 8 to 20 digits
• Switchover: from autonomous to manual within 10 minutes
• Arms: two collaborative arms, each with a 2-finger gripper, 50 mm stroke

Robot arm

• Dimensions: 160 × 58 × 60.5 cm (H × W × D)
• Weight: 100 kg, payload: 5 kg, reach: 800 mm
• Protection: IP54, cleanroom: ISO 14644-1 class 6
• Power draw: around 200 W in a typical programme
• Safety: 17 configurable safety functions including elbow monitoring

Daily archive

• 200 × 60 × 89.1 cm, 95 kg
• 5 racks of 50 positions, one rack per laboratory discipline
• Reject lane with manual drawer

Connection and integration

• Power: 10 × 230 V / 16 A, network: 7 ports
• LIS: connection to CLSI LIS1-A (formerly ASTM E1381) plus REST API. Operation without LIS and without middleware is possible: uGo+ then works from barcode suffix, cap colour or material identifier.
• Sample vessels: to EN 14820 and ISO 6710

Conformity

• CE declaration under the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC
• Low Voltage Directive 2014/35/EU, EMC Directive 2014/30/EU
• EN ISO 13849-1, EN ISO 10218-1, pose repeatability to ISO 9283
• Performance Level PLd, category 3

* System capacity in continuous operation. Actual throughput depends on the test profile and the sample volume. Clinical chemistry, immunology, haematology and coagulation run in parallel; centrifugation requirements, priority samples and the way samples reach the system all affect the result. We determine the throughput to expect in your laboratory together with you beforehand.