Human-Robot Collaboration in Laboratory Automation: A Critical Review

Abstract

Human-robot collaboration (HRC) is established in robotics, but its value in laboratory automation remains underdemonstrated. This industrially informed critical review asks when retained scientist involvement is a defensible HRC opportunity, and when it instead signals current automation design limitations. The aim is to clarify which laboratory situations justify human-in-the-loop robotic support when considering reproducibility, material variability, measurement validity, safety, and scientist workloads. The reviewed laboratory automation studies were selected using site observations and expert discussions. The selected works are synthesised into four recurring clusters: automation recovery support, preanalytical preparative handling, valid measurement sensitivity, and constrained manipulation. The strongest support for HRC is found in enclosure tasks and structured sample preparation chains, due to the scientist and robotic capabilities leveraged in each. Evidence is weaker for workflows with unpredictable exceptions and workflow-specific conditions. In these cases, improved diagnostics, interconnectivity, upkeep, workflow redesign, or fuller automation may be stronger responses than HRC. The implication is that laboratory HRC can be justified with explicit workflow conditions, a satisfactory scientist role, and comparison with manual or full automation alternatives.