Inertia, decisions and robots

Here’s a sentence I’ve heard a lot: ‘every liquid handler needs a lot of maintenance’. It’s not true! In fact, the people I have heard say this are those who have only used one kind of liquid handling robot – the type that does require a lot of tender, loving care. Other statements on the theme include ‘liquid handlers can’t do organic solvents’ (they absolutely can) and ‘I’m worried about getting another liquid handler as they need specialist programming skills’ (they do not, necessarily).

When we get used to a problem like the needy robot, we seem to justify its shortcomings as a necessity for the features.