Intelligent Future Lab smartLAB: After the success, it continues

The undisputed highlight of BIOTECHNICA/LABVOLUTION 2015 was the smartLAB – a special exhibition dedicated to the intelligent laboratory of the future. A group of scientists and companies from all over Germany set out to demonstrate, with the visionary model laboratory, how laboratory life will change in times of digitalization and Industry 4.0. This goal was achieved. The future laboratory was very well received by trade visitors as well as by partners of the smartLAB. More than half of the approximately 10,000 trade visitors explored the laboratory of the future. The next edition of BIOTECHNICA/LABVOLUTION in May 2017 will continue this development. The focus will then be on how progress is made, i.e., at which point visions become products.

"From our perspective, smartLAB 2015 was exceptionally successful," says Dr. Simon Bungers, CEO of labfolder from Berlin. "The laboratory of the future as an integrated yet flexible and modular system has great appeal." Bungers reports that labfolder was able to take away several hundred qualified contacts from the fair, some of which have already developed into initial customer relationships. "But the most important thing for us was that, through collaboration with the smartLAB partners, we not only made significant steps in development during the fair but also beforehand," explains Bungers.

Dr. Jan-Gerd Frerichs, Head of Information Integration at Eppendorf AG, agrees: "Overall, it was a successful show for us, with very good cooperation among the partners." From his perspective, it was the first time that a fully operational solution was presented with laboratory providers from various fields.

The three major trends in smartLAB were flexibility and modularization, integration and functionalization, as well as digitalization and automation. In total, twelve partner companies and institutions demonstrated how current laboratory infrastructure can evolve. The leadership in this effort lies with the Institute for Technical Chemistry at Leibniz University Hannover.

Visually, smartLAB was also a highlight. The colors white and green of the new LABVOLUTION laboratory technology fair dominated the scene. The hexagon shape proved to be a good choice. Trade visitors felt welcome and showed no hesitation in closely examining the future laboratory set up at the center of the special exhibition. The model laboratory was based on the ballroom concept from the manufacturing industry, enabling a flexible laboratory setup. The individual modules were constructed in a honeycomb structure. Simple laboratory devices such as rulers, scales, or sensors were integrated into this structure, allowing a laboratory setup with many free work surfaces. Responsible for this was Kötermann GmbH, a specialist in laboratory equipment.

"As a manufacturer of innovative laboratory furniture solutions, we are interested in close exchange with users and laboratory staff," says Tobias Thiele, Managing Director of Kötermann. "The smartLAB provided us with ample opportunity for this." The interest in the laboratory honeycomb was already high at the fair. Thiele adds, "With our first customers, we are currently developing Laboratory Honeycomb 2.0, which already intelligently and user-friendly forwards or processes data and power. Many wishes and ideas expressed by visitors of the smartLAB will be incorporated into this honeycomb."

In addition to the University of Hannover with the Institute for Technical Chemistry, the Laser Center Hannover, and the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology and Automation, the companies Eppendorf, iTiZZiMO, Kötermann, labfolder, Merck, PreSens Precision Sensing, Sartorius, Stäubli Tec-Systems Robotics, and Deutsche Messe AG are part of the smartLAB initiative.