Devices and methods for programmable manipulation of pipettes

A system for processing biological or chemical fluids, comprising:

• a liquid handling android comprising a deck area defining an operating surface on which a plurality of consumables are positioned;
• a programmable liquid handling device comprising a mechanical arm, the mechanical arm comprising an angular actuator and a mechanical hand movably coupled to the angular actuator;
• a camera mounted on the mechanical hand;
• a plurality of pipettes interfacing to a sample of the plurality of consumables, said mechanical hand adapted to manipulate at least one pipette of the plurality of pipettes, wherein said camera configured to generate multiple images from a plurality of locations or angles to acquire three dimensional information of the deck area;
• and
• a computer constituting a software interface configure to govern a behavior of the mechanical arm, including controlling the mechanical arm to move said camera viewing the deck area to generate the multiple images of the deck area by tilting or translation of the camera, wherein the camera is configured to obtain stereoscopic information from the multiple images for the computer to reconstruct the three-dimensional information, and to recognize the plurality of consumables positioned on the operating surface and perform three-dimensional localization of the mechanical arm including determining a location of the mechanical arm relative to the plurality of consumables, and wherein the software interface is configured to control the angular actuator to change an angular position and tilt the camera by moving the mechanical hand at an angle transverse to a vertical axis.