Lab automation without a laboratory line — for small and mid-sized hospital labs

The automation gap is not a guess – it has been named

The German association of accredited medical laboratories, ALM e.V., describes it in plain terms: many hospital laboratories need automation but have no access to fully automated laboratory lines. Too small for the line, too big for pure manual work. In between, until now, nothing happens.

At the same time the same rule applies in the laboratory as elsewhere: capacity is not the problem — staffing is. The devices are there. What is missing are people who decap tubes on the night shift.

Our answer: automation in stages instead of as a construction project. A mobile laboratory robot works with the devices you have, in the rooms you have – and grows with you once it proves itself.

Hybrid operation: the most honest form of automation

The most effective setup is rarely maximum automation but the right shift. In practice that means:

• Day shift: manual operation where flexibility counts – order entry, special cases and queries stay with the team.
• Late and night shift: the robot takes over sample transport, decapping, rack logistics and the loading of defined systems.
• Scaling: first one unit in pilot operation, then further sites or shifts.

The best automation is not the maximum but the one that achieves the largest staffing effect within the right time window.

What it takes

Lab automation without a lab line means: a mobile robot with a gripper arm, connected to your existing analysers, controlled through one platform. More than 30 laboratory device integrations cover clinical chemistry, immunoassay, haemostasis, haematology, immunohaematology, centrifuges and refrigerators. Details of the system are on the mobile laboratory robot page.

Key technical data for uLab Mobile

• Dimensions: 800 (L) × 580 (W) × 1,905 (H) mm
• Weight without load: approx. 130 kg, depending on configuration
• Ground clearance: 25–28 mm
• Maximum working height: 2,000 mm
• Top speed: 2.0 m/s
• Battery life: 5–6 hours; with intelligent opportunity charging during working hours, 24/7 operation is possible
• Minimum aisle width: 900 mm
• Conformity: CE declaration of conformity under the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC, CE ISO 3691-4 and ISO 13482

What we do not promise

A mobile robot is not a laboratory line in miniature. It does not reach that throughput and is not meant to. It needs defined procedures and a laboratory that is prepared to describe a process properly once. If you do not want that, you should not start – and we say so in the first conversation, not after the order.

Your robot. Your data.

A robot working in your organisation sees and hears things that are nobody’s business outside it. That is why the AI processing runs on the device and not in someone else’s cloud. A permanent internet connection is not required for operation — closed hospital, care and laboratory networks are possible. What is created with you stays with you: you decide on storage, analysis and deletion. Through uGo+ you define who may start which tasks, and mission reports are auditable — the basis for a data protection impact assessment, for the works council and for the authorities.

Buy or rent: Robot-as-a-Service

You can buy or rent as Robot-as-a-Service. With rental you pay a recurring monthly rate covering hardware, software maintenance and service together — from the operating budget instead of the capital budget. This is the usual route for a pilot and for a step-by-step rollout across several sites.

An honest note: rental is not automatically cheaper than purchase — it shifts risk and timing. What adds up for your organisation depends on term, quantity, funding options and budget structure. We work through that openly with you in the first conversation instead of selling you a model. We do not publish prices, because configuration and integration scope decide the outcome — a figure without that context would be misleading.

Frequently asked questions

From what laboratory size does automation pay off?

It is not the sample count that decides but the shift. If the late and night shifts are hard to staff, or samples queue up while nobody is there, a mobile system often adds up even at medium volume.

What does it cost to get started?

We agree the price individually. What matters more for small laboratories is usually the model: with Robot-as-a-Service you pay a monthly rate from the operating budget instead of writing off a capital investment.

Does the laboratory need rebuilding?

No. The system works in your existing rooms with your existing devices. A minimum aisle width of 900 mm is required.

What happens when we grow later?

You expand in stages: further skills, further device integrations, further units. The platform stays the same, which is why the second robot is up and running faster than the first.

Does this replace a laboratory line?

No. At very high, uniform volume a laboratory line is unbeatable. Our approach targets laboratories for which a line is not an option economically or structurally.

Sources: OECD, Health at a Glance: Europe 2024 · Federal Statistical Office of Germany, care workforce projection, press release of 23 January 2024 · German Economic Institute, MINT Spring Report 2026.