Laboratory Robotics as a Service - L-RaaS

Laboratory-Robotics as a Service (L-RaaS) will provide a compelling incentive for companies to base their manufacturing operations in the Liverpool City Region (LCR). It will do this by building the pipeline of R&D customers and providing a link to downstream LCR manufacturing supply chains.

L-RaaS will build demand for local manufacturing by make it easier for target companies to access the R&D capabilities of the LCR's world-beating Materials Innovation Factory (MIF) on a project-by-project basis rather than the large programmes that currently dominate usage.

L-RaaS will enable MIF to target companies globally who lack the scale of the MIF founding partner Unilever, but nevertheless rely on differentiation through innovative products in the highly competitive markets reliant on novel material formulation such as Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FCMG) and industrial chemicals. Increasingly, this will involve finding low-carbon alternatives to oil-based compounds.

This funnel of clients will increase demand for local manufacturing because of the significant process synergies and logistical cost savings from having a production and R&D based in the same region. With the move away from globalisation, this drive is only increasing. The LCR advanced manufacturing cluster is primed to support this influx, with guidance available from the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) who have intimate local supply chain knowledge.

The cutting-edge capabilities of the MIF when enhanced by the DIF's robotic and digital specialisms allows a world-beating way to execute state-of-the-art experimental development, shown to be an order of magnitude faster and more robust than the traditional methods that have provoked a global "reproducibility crisis".

L-RaaS will entail a full MIF/DIF capability mapping coupled to a market analysis and segmentation to highlight relevant core experimental processes. This will enable a IoT-enabled cloud-based service to enable a fully-automated call-off "design and execute" service integrating high-end experimental processes with precision robotics that enable full repeatability and high speed execution.

Although the facilities themselves have attracted substantial funding, this has been exclusively for asset development rather than faciliating lower barriers to entry for potential clients, accessed through and by industry/academia partnerships such as the one in place with Unilever that underpinned the original public investment. Without this commercial proof of concept that the launchpad will enable, it is highly unlikely that this initiative will be able to attract risk capital from the marketplace.

If funded, this project will directly enable significant jobs, capability and global reputational growth for the MIF/DIF and LCR.