System for automating scientific and engineering experimentation

• US 7,239,966 B2
• Filed: 10/28/2005
• Issued: 07/03/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/12/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: S-Matrix
• Original Assignee: S-Matrix
• Inventors: Verseput, Richard P., Cooney, George A. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tsai; Carol S. W.
• Application Number:
  US11/262,539
• Publication Number:
  US 20060259158A1
• Time in Patent Office: 613 Days
• Field of Search: 702/32, 702/20, 700/1, 700/19, 707/1, 707/104.1, 707/200
• US Class Current: 702/32
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

A system for automating experimentation is disclosed. The system comprises an automated experimentation platform (AEP) for automating research, development, and engineering experimentation processes and work and a generalized exchange module (GEM) for automating data exchanges between the AEP and external software applications, devices, or the instrument control programs (ICPs) controlling the devices; a generalization of the exchange module enables all automated data exchanges to be generic. Through the use of the automated experimentation platform (AEP) and the generalized exchange module (GEM), the automation can be adapted to any targeted external software application, device or a devices'"'"' controlling software program.

Claims

1. A system for automating experimentation comprising:

a generalized data exchange module (GEM) that (a) imports (i) experiment type definitions specific to an experimental environment or area of application, (ii) device setup and control definitions of all involved instruments, devices, and ICPs, (iii) analysis template definitions specific to individual subroutine complement and sequence requirements, and (iiii) reporting template definitions specific to individual user and area of application requirements;

the definitions enabled to be independently developed according to public data structures without the need for programming, and (b) automates data exchanges between the automated experimentation platform (AEP) and various external software applications, instruments, devices, and ICPs and contains a public interface for allowing the data exchanges to be generic; and

an automated experimentation platform (AEP) that contains (a) an experiment setup interface that dynamically configures to the defined experiment types and their involved instrument platforms and devices, (b) an analysis setup interface that dynamically configures to the defined complement and sequence of subroutines selected from an internal library, (c) a report setup interface that dynamically configures to the defined report data and results complement and sequence settings, (d) design of experiments (DOE) engines that generate statistically designed experiments correct to the defined experiment types and their involved instrument platforms and devices, and (e) numerical analysis, graphing, optimization, and reporting software engines that process data and results from external software applications, instruments, devices, and ICPs, execute data analysis processes according to the defined complement and sequence of analysis subroutines settings, and construct reports according to the defined report data and results complement and sequence settings.