The Application of Robotics in the Water Industry and the Development of a BOD Robot

The application of robotics in water authority laboratories is reviewed and the development of a robotic biochemical oxygen demand analyser is described. Problems encountered during commissioning are discussed and subsequent modifications are described. The performance of the robotic system is compared with the manual technique. It is concluded that the robotic technique is the more precise and that no significant bias exists between data produced by the two methods. The cost effectiveness of the system is discussed. Means of increasing the speed of operation and reducing operator involvement are considered.