TRobot

The Biometra TRobot is a thermal cycler designed from the outset for automation. Analytik Jena describe it as intended for remote control by integration into the scheduler software of an automation platform, which is exactly how Revolution uses it.

Two generations are driven, and their control surfaces differ:

Device	Revolution control
TRobot (classic)	Run a program — and author one: create it, add steps, save it to the device
TRobot II	Run a program or an incubation, pause, continue, skip a step, stop, wait for completion

Built for a robot

Three design features exist specifically because a gripper has to reach the block:

• Free access to the block from three sides, so the platform layout is not dictated by the cycler
• A plate-lifter — four small motor-driven lifters raise the plate out of the block when the lid opens, then recess
• A lid opening and closing mechanism, for almost maintenance-free operation

The plate-lifter is the one that matters for reliability: a plate seated in a heated block does not come out cleanly on its own, and lifting it before the gripper arrives is what avoids a failed pick.

Analytik Jena also list a touch-sensitive safety frame, “Smart Tune” automatic lid giving constant contact pressure independent of the consumable used, a compact PCR module with a separate controller that can sit under the platform, and operation at max. 54 dB.

Specifications — TRobot II

Analytik Jena publish three block formats, all with the gradient function. Heating and cooling rates are measured at the cavity wall of the block; uniformity figures are typical values after 15 s.

TRobot II 96 G

Sample block	Aluminium, special alloy
Block capacity	96 × 0.1/0.2 mL tubes, 96-well microplate or 8-well strips
Proposed sample volume	5–50 µL
Max. / average heating	4.0 °C/s / 3.7 °C/s
Max. / average cooling	3.1 °C/s / 2.8 °C/s
Uniformity at 95 / 70 / 55 °C	± 0.60 °C / ± 0.30 °C / ± 0.20 °C
Max./min. gradient	24 °C / 0.1 °C
Adjustable gradient range	12 rows, 20–99 °C

TRobot II 96 SG

Sample block	Silver, gold coating
Block capacity	96 × 0.1/0.2 mL tubes, 96-well microplate or 8-well strips
Proposed sample volume	5–100 µL
Max. / average heating	5.0 °C/s / 4.9 °C/s
Max. / average cooling	4.8 °C/s / 4.5 °C/s
Uniformity at 95 / 70 / 55 °C	± 0.50 °C / ± 0.25 °C / ± 0.15 °C
Max./min. gradient	30 °C / 0.1 °C
Adjustable gradient range	12 rows, 10–99 °C

TRobot II 384 G

Sample block	Aluminium, special alloy
Block capacity	384-well microplate
Proposed sample volume	5–25 µL
Max. / average heating	2.4 °C/s / 2.2 °C/s
Max. / average cooling	1.8 °C/s / 1.6 °C/s
Uniformity at 95 / 70 / 55 °C	± 0.60 °C / ± 0.30 °C / ± 0.15 °C
Max./min. gradient	18 °C / 0.1 °C
Adjustable gradient range	24 rows, 20–99 °C

The silver, gold-coated block is the one to notice. The 96 SG is faster on every axis — 5.0 °C/s heating against 4.0, and 4.8 °C/s cooling against 3.1 — with tighter uniformity and a wider sample volume range and gradient. If cycle time or annealing precision matters, the block material is the specification to choose on, not the well count.

The gradient function

All three blocks include Analytik Jena’s Linear Gradient Tool, which applies a temperature gradient across rows so different annealing temperatures can be tested in a single run — 12 rows on the 96-well blocks, 24 on the 384. That is an optimisation feature, and it means a run’s block temperature is deliberately not uniform.

Supported methods

TRobot II

• Run program — run a stored PCR program
• Run incubation — hold an incubation rather than cycle
• Pause program / Continue program — pause and resume
• Skip step — skip the current step
• Stop program — abandon the run
• Wait for program complete — block until the program finishes
• Open lid / Close lid — lid control for the handoff

Skip step is unusual and worth knowing about — it lets a schedule cut a cycling stage short without abandoning the whole program, which stop would.

TRobot (classic)

• Run program — run a program by directory and program number
• Create program — create a new program
• Add step to program — append a step
• Save current program to device — persist it to the instrument
• Update last step cycle count from database — set the final step’s cycle count from a database value
• Open lid / Close lid

This is the only device in the catalogue whose driver authors protocols rather than only running them. A schedule can build a program step by step, save it, and run it — and the cycle count of the last step can be driven from a database, so the number of cycles becomes data rather than a constant.

Integration

The TRobot II is reached by IP address or URL, or over a serial connection, and identifies a block number — so a platform with more than one PCR module addresses each separately.

It also takes user initials and a password. Runs are attributed to a user on the instrument, which matters if your records need to show who ran what.

Prerequisites

• The instrument must be reachable, and the block number must match the module the method targets.
• User credentials must be valid where the instrument requires them.
• On the classic TRobot, programs are addressed by directory and number — confirm both on the instrument rather than by name.
• The lid must be free to open, with the gripper’s approach path clear.

Device configuration

Property	Purpose
IP Address / URL	Network address of the instrument
COM Port	Serial port, where used
Block Number	Which PCR module this device addresses
User Initials / User Password	Credentials the instrument attributes runs to

If you need more of this instrument driven from a schedule, get in touch — the driver is extended on demand.