Cameras, lighting & sensing
RGB and specialized imaging stations, consistent illumination, sample presentation, calibration workflows, and supporting equipment.
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Custom imaging and laboratory systems
Built around your experiment.
Connect your instruments, experiments, data, and AI agents. We help scope practical imaging, robotics, MCP-ready interfaces, and software integrations for the lab you have—and the autonomous workflows you want to build.
Where we can help
Hardware and software, together.
Our approach begins with the measurement problem. Specifications, scope, cost, and schedule are agreed through a quote rather than implied by an off-the-shelf catalog listing.
Handling & automation
Robotic arms, plate hotels, agar sampling, delidding, custom sample carriers, positioning mechanisms, workflows, and tailored capacity.
Accessible data & agent integration
Local AI stations, software customization, acquisition, metadata, real-time image access, MCP interfaces, and connections to your own AI agents and persistent autonomous workflows. We consult on segmentation models and provide basic segmentation, colony counting, colony morphology, and colony spectral features with suitable imaging hardware and data. Further development is available by quote.
A practical process
Start with a measurement.
Whether you are connecting an existing lab or designing a new instrument, we work through feasibility, hardware/software interfaces, risk assessment, and validation before agreeing on a custom scope.
Your sample and question
Share sample types, dimensions, desired traits, throughput, environmental conditions, and how your lab currently acquires images.
A sensible technical plan
Discuss hardware interfaces, camera and lighting options, automation requirements, budget range, and practical constraints.
Scope and milestones
Receive a tailored proposal identifying what is included, what requires development, and which performance and safety checks are needed.
Start with a configurable platform
See PheneMachine Workcell.
For automated Petri dish imaging, our benchtop PheneMachine Workcell may already be a useful starting point. Each base system includes a cobot arm (440 mm or 700 mm arm reach), five shelf racks, and one RGB imaging station. GUI control software, CLI, and MCP server access are included. An enclosure with door interlock and a safety controller with arm switch, reset, and status light are standard; expansion options are available separately.
Robotic system specifications and options ↗Fund the next step in autonomous science
Research partnerships.
Practical proposal support.
We are interested in partnering on DOE and NSF SBIR/STTR proposals and supporting NSF- and DOE-funded autonomous laboratory proposals. We are familiar with major U.S. funding agencies and help teams develop technically grounded applications for AI and automation in research.
Develop technology together
Explore joint research and commercialization plans around accessible phenotyping, imaging, robotics, and agentic workflows. Collaborations can be scoped around small-business and research-institution roles appropriate to the opportunity.
Connect the scientific and technical plans
We can support imaging and hardware selection, laboratory integration, image-analysis design, local AI infrastructure, agent interfaces, and the path from scheduled automation to supervised autonomous workflows.
Make the work concrete
Discuss technical aims, feasibility, equipment quotations, budgets, milestones, evaluation plans, data management, and reproducibility. Tell us the scientific goals, solicitation, deadline, and role you envision for Phenotyper.
Partnership roles and proposal support are agreed for each project. Eligibility, agency requirements, and submission opportunities depend on the specific solicitation.
Discuss a research partnership ↗Project inquiry
Describe the challenge.
Tell us about your samples, measurement goals, equipment, and approximate timeline, and we'll discuss feasibility and a tailored quote.