Connect devices and automate workflows
Analytical instruments, robots and software from different vendors rarely work together. With retavi you run robotics, lab equipment and data storage on one operating layer - through open standards such as SiLA 2 and OPC UA LADS. Measurement data flows straight into your LIMS. One continuous, fully automated layer.
Your benefit
Devices from different vendors in one continuous layer
Measurement data captured in a structured way and handed to LIMS or a database
Reproducible, documented workflows instead of manual steps
Fast adapter development: new or exotic devices connected in a short time, extensible at any time
Your starting point
Lab check
In the workshop we go through one specific integration case or workflow in your lab and show how the systems and data are connected and controlled on a shared layer. Includes a fixed-price effort estimate.
Arrange an initial consultationChallenges
Devices work in isolation
Analytical instruments, lab robots and software from different vendors are not connected to each other.
Manual intermediate steps
Results are transferred from device to device by hand, which costs time and invites errors.
Unstructured measurement data
Measurement values end up in individual files or on paper, in their own incompatible formats, instead of one continuous data store.
Reproducibility is hard to prove
Without a documented process, a measurement run is hard to repeat identically.
Exotic interfaces
Scales, robots, centrifuges, dispensers - lab devices speak their own protocols. Every new connection becomes its own integration project.
Classic solution vs. retavi
| Aspect | Classic solution | With retavi |
|---|---|---|
| Workflow | Isolated individual devices | One continuous operating system for automation and data |
| Data | Manual, unstructured | Structured to LIMS/database |
| Reproducibility | Manual, error-prone | Documented and repeatable |
| Integration | Custom scripts | Configured |
| Standards | Vendor protocols | SiLA 2, OPC UA LADS, classic interfaces |
| Vendor mix | Incompatible | Integrated automatically |
| New devices | Integration project per device | Adapter available or developed automatically |
How retavi solves it
Three steps from single devices to an automated workflow.
Connect devices
You connect analytical instruments, lab robots and vendor software to one shared workflow. Adapters for all common industrial and many lab field devices are available - from scales to SiLA, SiLA 2 and OPC UA LADS to robotics. Lab devices and industrial systems become fully compatible.
Run the workflow
retavi controls the devices in the process and brings the steps together automatically.
Hand over data
Measurement data flows to your LIMS or database in structured form.
Systems & connectivity
Processing & controlDevices & systems
Examples
Retrofit an existing lab balance with a LADS-compliant OPC UA server
Situation
A lab balance already has a TCP/IP interface, but it speaks a proprietary protocol: short commands such as "IP" for the current weight or "T" to tare. The reply is a single text string that mixes weight, unit and a question mark for a value that is not yet stable. Every connection to a LIMS or another IT system therefore turns into custom programming work.
With retavi
With the retavi Connectivity Node, the balance is found by a network discovery and connected without writing code. The built-in AI assistant looks up the required message delimiter in the device manual. A parse configuration splits the reply into the data fields weight, unit and stability, and tare and zero are added as methods. A secured OPC UA server then exposes the balance using the included LADS device type.
Benefit
Weight and stability are available as structured, typed values, and tare and zero can be called directly via OPC UA. The LIMS addresses the balance through the standardised LADS model instead of a vendor protocol and can integrate it plug-and-play. A SiLA 2 server can be set up the same way, instead or in addition.
Talk to us about your automation challenges.
