Biosero Scales Lab Automation Using the Power of Intelligent Transport Technology and Magnetically Levitating Movers
Over the past few years, biotechnology has advanced at a remarkable pace. Alongside these developments, automation has become increasingly integrated into scientific research. From developing new virologic cures for persistently hard-to-treat diseases to pushing the limits of cancer immunotherapy and genetic medicines, automation and controls engineers are playing an increasingly important role in modern research. The engineers at San Diego-based Biosero apply their lab automation expertise into the R&D process, seamlessly integrating automation technology into scientific workflow, accelerate discovery and adapting to the evolving needs of researchers.
In 2024, Biosero sought out a transport solution that could move fragile samples across tightly packed lab cells without vibration, noise, or compromise to material and data integrity that could get in the way of the next big medical discovery. Over more than two decades in lab automation, Biosero has developed an orchestration-first approach to integrating instruments, robotics, and data systems across complex laboratory environments.
The company's Green Button Go orchestration software was already being used to coordinate robots, lab instruments, transport systems, and schedulers as part of a single, predictable workflow environment in many automated laboratories around the world. As the orchestration layer, Green Button Go enables new technologies to be integrated into that environment while maintaining a consistent approach to workflow execution, data flow, and system management. What Biosero still needed now was a highly flexible and intelligent handling system that could integrate into the orchestration layer with the same practiced confidence. XPlanar, Beckhoff’s magnetically levitating intelligent transport technology, together with the TwinCAT automation software platform and EtherCAT networking, provided the combination of delicate handling, determinism, and openness Biosero required.
This journey to adaptive automation began in trade show aisles and technical conversations. “I first learned about XPlanar through conversations and demos at the SLAS trade show with Beckhoff representatives,” recalls John Canty, Senior IT Architect at Biosero. Canty and his Biosero colleagues recognized that XPlanar could replace the heavier, more intrusive transport systems they were using. Beyond the hardware, Biosero found Beckhoff support to be a decisive factor, so they engaged Beckhoff USA’s Special Projects Team to accelerate development. This helped not only to create the software projects for the XPlanar-enabled systems but also to train Biosero engineers so they could best support the new machines in the field.
For Biosero customers – from small research labs experimenting with new cancer assays to large production environments running population‑scale DNA tests – the stakes are high. A single disrupted microplate, a poorly timed pick, or inconsistent handling can force rework, delay critical research timelines, and complicate regulatory submissions to the FDA. This is where XPlanar plays a role. “Together, Green Button Go and XPlanar ensure that movers and robots transport test plates efficiently and consistently throughout the process,” Canty explains. “This protects sample quality and traceability for our customers.”
Consistency is key
Biosero engineers stress that consistency is not just “nice to have”; it is a prerequisite for downstream analytics, audit trails and, ultimately, for successful submissions to regulatory authorities. XPlanar answered a parallel set of needs here. The technology’s floating and flying movers glide silently in any direction across motor tiles, enabling plates and carriers to be delivered to robots and other instruments without the shocks and vibration of alternative handling systems. The XPlanar motor tiles can be arranged in any lab layout for movers that hover, offer 6 degrees of freedom in motion, lift up to 5 mm, rotate 360°, tilt up to 5°, and can speed along at velocities up to 3 m/s.
“We work with XPlanar because of its smooth and near silent operation,” says Evelyne Ploquin, P. Eng., Solutions Architect and Team Lead at Biosero. “Our applications require very gentle handling throughout our processes, and the XPlanar movers don’t shake compounds or samples.” For assays sensitive to agitation – cell work, delicate proteins, or sample preparations – that stability can improve results by eliminating a major source of variability. For lab engineers and scientists, the value is clear: fewer repeats, clearer signals, and a low likelihood that a seemingly minor handling event will have ripple effects that lead to costly delays.
Selecting XPlanar was not merely a material handling decision; Biosero required a complete automation and control architecture that could coordinate maglev movers, robots, vision systems and instruments with microsecond reliability. PC-based control via a C6032 industrial PC with an 8-core Intel® Core™ i7 processor (11th generation) provided the processing power and EtherCAT supplied the speed and determinism. The industrial Ethernet protocol’s low latency, built‑in diagnostics features, and flexibility to easily add distributed I/O and connect with other networks as systems scale made it a natural fit for orchestrating all devices in a modern lab cell. Beckhoff supplied prebuilt control cabinets for the XPlanar system, which simplified on‑site work. “We just drop the system in place, plug everything in, power up, and run some simple tests before getting it up and running,” Canty says.
TwinCAT, Beckhoff’s PC‑based engineering environment and automation runtime, provided a universal ecosystem where XPlanar, PLC, general motion control, and safety functions coexist in one platform. As Biosero’s engineering staff is highly proficient in C# and Visual Studio, TwinCAT’s deep integration with Microsoft’s development environment flattened the learning curve and enabled reuse of engineering practices across projects. “Programming in TwinCAT is instantly familiar to our team because of the Visual Studio integration,” Canty says. “It gives us a cohesive environment we’re used to, with Git integrations and tools that C# developers immediately recognize.” That familiarity translated into faster iterations along with clearer traceability and validation for customers in highly regulated industries.
Changing course without losing direction
For Biosero, the objective is never to standardize on a specific technology, but to orchestrate the right combination of technologies for a given workflow and allow that system to evolve over time. Rather than a monolithic machine where conveyors and large robotic arms try to do everything, Biosero uses modular work cells that are coordinated by Green Button Go and connected through adaptive automation technologies such as XPlanar. Individual cells perform instrument‑specific tasks under the deterministic guidance of TwinCAT and EtherCAT while XPlanar continuously carries well plates between stations without disturbance to material integrity. The arrangement is compact, reducing the machine footprint compared to traditional conveyor or puck-based systems for labs. It’s also far more flexible: reconfigurations for new assays or plate formats are software-driven rather than engineering‑intensive mechanical and electrical changeovers.
That flexibility matters not only for throughput and quality but also for real lab economics. Biosero customers in biotech and pharma industries often need rapid changeovers between experiments or must support large SKU counts across many consumable formats. The combination of XPlanar’s dynamic path planning and Biosero’s orchestration software makes changeovers faster and less disruptive. In practice, this reduces downtime between production runs and shortens validation cycles when new formats or instruments are introduced. For labs under pressure to scale R&D or clinical diagnostics, that flexibility helps reduce disruption when workflows, formats, or system requirements change over time.
The orchestration layer aggregates machine state, event logs, and diagnostic data in a structured way that enables downstream analytics and practical, “hype‑free” AI applications. Canty points to AI’s immediate value in troubleshooting: entering logs into a genAI tool often gives engineers a reasonable place to start. Beckhoff’s TwinCAT CoAgent, an emerging software extension to help accelerate programming and development, is directly integrating AI technologies into a standard automation software platform. “The biggest advantage I see with AI is with troubleshooting,” Canty says. TwinCAT CoAgent takes that further by providing contextualized troubleshooting recommendations and deep code‑generation support directly in the engineering environment.”
Across the Biosero team, there is a palpable sense of engineering discovery in working with new automation and motion control platforms. “You find all of the engineering limits and then you push them – it’s fun,” Canty says. That curiosity paid off in design improvements and in a deeper understanding of system edge cases – the very situations that, if left unaddressed, create costly field service calls.
Operationally, the choice of Beckhoff system with XPlanar has already delivered several recurring benefits. The nearly silent, gentle product transport helps minimize sample agitation and supports more consistent handling throughout the workflow. EtherCAT’s diagnostic capabilities and TwinCAT’s integrated software toolchain simplify root cause analysis and shorten troubleshooting time. The modular approach enables tailored deployments – from benchtop cells to production‑scale orchestrated lines – while keeping the core control templates and electrical designs standardized. All of this contributes to a lower total cost of ownership over the life of a machine, a critical consideration for capital‑constrained labs or for organizations rapidly scaling diagnostic capacity.
Automation and control for the cure
For Biosero, the work carries deeper meaning beyond project milestones. Engineers on the team regularly hear and share stories about the human impact of the labs and workflows they help automate. Michelle Talarico, Biosero’s CFO, shares a personal perspective: “It’s amazing to see how new technologies like these support scientific advances that ultimately contribute to improved healthcare outcomes and literally save patients' lives,” she says. “Modern lab automation helps scientists reach their research outcomes faster and fail faster to help them realize when they need to change course sooner. It speeds up the entire process.”
The human stakes add urgency to Biosero’s engineering mission. Lucius Kemp, the company’s Scientific Director, points out that precise transport and timing can mean the difference between success and failure for time‑dependent biological processes. “We need to move these delicate samples through time-sensitive steps as efficiently and safely as possible. XPlanar gives us those capabilities in an end-to-end solution,” he says. “The ability to autonomously transport maglev movers with microplates directly to lab instruments is a big plus.”
Looking ahead, Biosero and Beckhoff will continue improving validation workflows to ensure that orchestrated systems meet the documentation and audit demands of regulated biotech manufacturing and clinical environments. The two companies’ collaborative model – starting with early design work, tiered engineering resources, and hands‑on field support – has added value when supporting complex automation projects and a practical advantage when customers must integrate new systems into tightly regulated processes.
While Biosero’s engineers literally had fun learning how to work with XPlanar and TwinCAT, their decision to work with Beckhoff was pragmatic: it combined open, developer‑friendly toolchains with breakthrough motion control technology from a vendor that would support highly flexible lab automation designs. “TwinCAT gives us the hooks to easily integrate and tie into the larger orchestration applications that Biosero is implementing with their own technologies such as Green Button Go,” Charles Usher, Beckhoff Sales Engineer, says.
For Biosero, that interoperability is not an abstract benefit; it’s the infrastructure that enables the orchestration software to operate like a translator between the lab’s instruments and the lab’s researchers in the field.
Ultimately, Biosero’s engineering approach has produced a lab automation platform that is gentle on research samples, consistent in results, and easier to changeover and integrate across instruments. By combining Green Button Go’s orchestration capabilities with Beckhoff’s XPlanar, TwinCAT automation software, and EtherCAT networking technologies, Biosero has created a repeatable architecture that helps laboratories scale automation while maintaining flexibility, traceability, and long‑term adaptability. This bold technological collaboration literally carries the weight of clinical research and its outcomes.
