Skip to content

fastians/Lab-Automation

Repository files navigation

Lab Automation Dashboard

Production-grade monitoring dashboard for liquid handling automation, device connectivity, and multi-well plate management - demonstrating real-time lab automation architecture.

🔗 Live Demo

Portfolio Project

This project is a portfolio demonstration designed to showcase senior developer capabilities across four critical skill areas:

  1. Architecture Sense - System design, code organization, scalability
  2. Design Sense - UI/UX, visual hierarchy, user experience
  3. Language/Technical Sense - TypeScript mastery, React patterns, best practices
  4. Information Presentation Sense - Data visualization, real-time updates, clarity

Why Lab Automation? This domain choice reflects real-world experience building similar systems in production environments, demonstrating both technical and domain expertise.

Documentation

Overview

A comprehensive lab automation dashboard that simulates real-time liquid handling operations, protocol execution, and device monitoring. Built with React 19, TypeScript, and Tailwind CSS v4, showcasing advanced state management patterns and real-time visualization capabilities.

Features

🎯 Protocol Management

  • Protocol Templates - Pre-defined liquid handling protocols (96-well and 384-well formats)
  • Protocol Execution - Run protocols with real-time step-by-step progress tracking
  • Run Control - Start, pause, resume, stop, and restart protocol runs
  • Step Visualization - See which step is currently executing with visual indicators
  • Multi-Step Workflows - Support for complex multi-step liquid handling sequences

💧 Liquid Handling

  • Real-Time Operations - Live tracking of pipette operations (source → destination transfers)
  • Volume Management - Precise µL tracking for each operation
  • Operation Status - Completed, in-progress, queued, and failed state tracking
  • Animated Transfers - Visual animation showing liquid movement between wells
  • Well Plate Visualization - Interactive 96-well and 384-well plate displays

🔌 Device & Module Management

  • Single Liquid Handler Robot - Central liquid handling device
  • Connected Modules - Pipette modules, plate reader, gripper modules
  • Module Status - Real-time connection status and operation tracking
  • Operation Counters - Track total operations per module
  • Health Monitoring - Last seen timestamps and connectivity status

🧪 Well Plate Management

  • 96-Well Plates - Standard format for liquid handling operations
  • 384-Well Plates - High-throughput format support
  • Visual Status - Color-coded wells (empty, filled, processing, error)
  • Volume Tracking - Real-time volume display for each well
  • Interactive Selection - Click wells to view details and statistics
  • Plate Statistics - Total wells, filled/empty counts, total volume

📊 Dashboard & Monitoring

  • Real-Time Dashboard - Overview of all system components
  • Sensor Monitoring - Temperature, pressure, humidity sensors with threshold alerts
  • Event Logging - Complete audit trail of all system events
  • Operations Log - Detailed history of all pipette operations
  • Admin View - Administrative interface for system management

⚡ Real-Time Updates

  • Live Sensor Data - Simulated sensor updates every 2 seconds
  • Protocol Simulation - Real-time protocol execution with step progression
  • Status Synchronization - Instant updates across all views
  • Visual Feedback - Animated indicators for active operations

Technical Architecture

State Management

  • React Context API - Global state management for sensors, devices, protocols, and operations
  • Custom Hooks - Encapsulated logic (useProtocolSimulation, useSensorSimulation)
  • Memoization - Performance optimization with React.memo, useMemo, useCallback
  • Error Boundaries - Graceful error handling and recovery

Component Structure

src/
├── components/
│   ├── views/          # Main view components
│   │   ├── DashboardView.tsx
│   │   ├── DevicesView.tsx
│   │   ├── ProtocolsView.tsx
│   │   ├── RunsView.tsx
│   │   ├── OperationsView.tsx
│   │   ├── EventsView.tsx
│   │   ├── WellPlatesView.tsx
│   │   └── AdminView.tsx
│   ├── memoized/       # Performance-optimized components
│   └── WellPlateVisualization.tsx
├── contexts/           # React Context providers
├── hooks/              # Custom React hooks
├── services/           # Business logic layer
├── data/               # Simulation data
├── types/              # TypeScript type definitions
└── utils/              # Utility functions

Data Flow

  1. Simulation Layer - Custom hooks simulate real-time hardware communication
  2. Service Layer - Business logic for protocol execution and device management
  3. Context Layer - Global state management via React Context
  4. View Layer - UI components consume context and display data

Tech Stack

  • Frontend: React 19, TypeScript
  • Styling: Tailwind CSS v4 (CSS-first configuration)
  • UI Components: shadcn/ui
  • Icons: Lucide React
  • Build Tool: Vite (Rolldown)
  • Deployment: Vercel

Quick Start

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Start development server
npm run dev

# Build for production
npm run build

# Preview production build
npm run preview

Project Structure

Views

  • Dashboard - System overview with statistics and status
  • Devices - Liquid handler robot and connected modules
  • Protocols - Browse and start protocol templates
  • Runs - Monitor active and completed protocol runs with well plate visualization
  • Operations - Detailed log of all pipette operations
  • Events - System event log with filtering
  • Well Plates - Manage and visualize 96-well and 384-well plates
  • Admin - Administrative controls and system information

Protocol System

  • Templates - Pre-defined protocols with multiple steps
  • Runs - Executed instances of protocols
  • Steps - Individual operations (source, destination, volume)
  • Status Tracking - Queued, running, paused, completed, cancelled, failed

Well Plate System

  • 96-Well Format - 8 rows × 12 columns (standard format)
  • 384-Well Format - 16 rows × 24 columns (high-throughput)
  • Well Status - Empty, filled, processing, error
  • Volume Tracking - Per-well volume in µL
  • Visual Indicators - Color-coded status with animations

Key Features Demonstrated

Real-Time Systems - Sub-2-second data synchronization
Complex State Management - Multiple interdependent data streams
Protocol Execution - Multi-step workflow orchestration
Visual Feedback - Animated well plate operations
Device Architecture - Single device with multiple modules
Error Handling - Error boundaries and graceful degradation
Performance Optimization - Memoization and efficient re-renders
Type Safety - Full TypeScript coverage

Architecture Decisions

Why interval-based simulation?
In production, this would use WebSockets or Server-Sent Events. For this demo, intervals simulate real-time hardware communication patterns.

Why single liquid handler device?
Realistic lab automation setup - one central liquid handler robot with multiple connected modules (pipettes, plate reader, gripper).

Why 96-well and 384-well plates?
Standard formats for liquid handling operations. The system supports both with appropriate visualization.

Why protocol templates?
Allows users to define reusable workflows that can be executed multiple times, matching real lab automation systems.

Why step-by-step visualization?
Critical for understanding protocol progress and troubleshooting. Each step shows source/destination and volume.

Why module-based architecture?
Reflects real liquid handler systems where different modules handle different operations (pipetting, reading, gripping).

Future Enhancements

Potential additions for production use:

  • WebSocket backend for true real-time streaming
  • Historical data charts and trend analysis
  • User authentication and role-based access
  • Database persistence for audit logs
  • Mobile responsive optimizations
  • Additional well plate formats (1536-well)
  • Computer vision integration
  • Workflow scheduling and queuing
  • API integration with LIMS systems
  • Multi-device support
  • Protocol versioning and templates library

Built with React 19, TypeScript, and Tailwind CSS v4. Demonstrates production-grade real-time system architecture, liquid handling visualization, and device connectivity monitoring patterns.

About

Lab Automation Dashboard

Resources

Stars

Watchers

Forks

Releases

No releases published

Packages

No packages published

Languages