IKA Eurostar 200 Stirrer - Adopting SiLA drivers into a Lab-of-the-Future digital network

Your Workflow, Your Instruments, Made Digital

Deft, a scalable, laboratory digital network product used to integrate bench-top instruments together for chemical formulation and R&D labs. Deft can work as a stand-alone system or as part of an existing LIMS connected infrastructure.

At the heart of the system is the Deft Gateway which combines Bluetooth instrument connectivity with Wi-Fi protocol to connect the lab instruments to any secure in-house or cloud-based server network. Deft has a host of additional features such as experimental design, workflow control, remote access, audit trail and Asset Management worthy of a fully digital Lab-of-the-Future program.

Integrating the IKA 200 Stirrer

Applied Scientific Technologies (AST) are the global specialists for SiLA driver development and have linked many standard lab bench equipment to Deft using the SiLA 2 communications protocol.
The IKA Eurostar 200 Stirrer is the latest addition to our growing library. We have integrated several IKA Stirrers since developing Deft, using a combination of SiLA and our own unique implementation. We can present device functions to the user in a standard way, allowing them to interact with device features consistently. Our approach involves splitting device functions into individual components e.g. stir and heat.
Our SiLA drivers are then developed as a combination of SiLA features, allowing for greater code reuse. This also allows us to use devices with minimal (potentially none at all) changes to the application. Along with being user-friendly this has the potential to reduce the learning curve for using new devices.

SiLA (Standardisation in Lab Automation) enables Lab-of-the-Future technology through free and open communication protocols and data standards. The adopting of SiLA helps to future proof lab equipment by enabling end-to-end integration with lab instruments and allows them to connect to each other are share data more seamlessly. www.sila-standard.com/

Implementing SiLA drivers into a variety of equipment provides endless benefits such as digitisation information capture and standard Deft benefits which include lab asset management and specific user experimental design and workflow integration.
The GUI is intuitive and requires no formal training. The App allows many functions that are not possible when using the device alone such as capturing all communication and data, allowing the device to be controlled wirelessly and automatically run multiple experiments in sequence under user control.
Deft is already cloud-ready to allow Asset Management, remote access and over-the-air updates as seamlessly integrates into any digital laboratory project.

Applied Scientific Technologies (AST) is an emerging, innovative spin-out company founded in 2017 based in Stokesley, North Yorkshire. Founded by two directors from Applied Integration UK Ltd, a company celebrating its 15th working anniversary. AST are innovative specialists in robotics, automated control systems and hardware integration in the laboratory, chemical, pharmaceutical, physical and life science industries supporting your laboratory digitalisation journey.