Cobot-based automation in sample preparation

Sample preparation remains a pivotal and labor-intensive stage in analytical workflows, critically affecting the reliability and reproducibility of results. While laboratory automation has traditionally focused on static, high-throughput systems, recent advances in collaborative robotics (cobots) offer a promising alternative. Designed to operate safely alongside humans, cobots combine enhanced flexibility with intuitive programming and lower deployment costs, making them particularly attractive for dynamic laboratory environments. This review focuses on current knowledge on cobot-based sample preparation, highlighting recent applications across material sciences, bioanalysis, and clinical diagnostics. These implementations demonstrate how complex manual workflows and individual tasks can be automated using cobots. Key challenges, including integration with legacy devices and workflow orchestration, are discussed alongside emerging solutions such as drag-and-drop programming and standards-based integration. The review concludes by identifying research gaps and outlining future directions for cobot deployment in analytical chemistry, emphasizing their potential to enhance reproducibility, efficiency, and scalability.