Robotic processing system

An automated biochemical or chemical processing laboratory comprising:

• a dock frame with a linearly elongated configuration formed of a number of dock frame modules;
• a number of laboratory stations including one or more of a processing station and a laboratory sample storage station, the number of laboratory stations being arrayed along a side of and interfacing the dock frame;
• an array of cart modules along the side and coupled to the dock frame, each cart module of the array of cart modules being interchangeable from a number of different cart modules and configured to position at least one of the laboratory stations in a predetermined position relative to the dock frame;
• and
• a modular interface configured so that the array of cart modules are coupled to the dock frame so as to selectively configure the linearly elongated configuration from a first linearly elongated configuration to a second different linearly elongated configuration, where the first linearly elongated configuration has a first predetermined array of laboratory stations and the second linearly elongated configuration has a second different predetermined array of laboratory stations.

A method for automated laboratory testing or storage of a biological or chemical sample, the method comprising:

• operably coupling at least one of an automated, at least in part, laboratory instrumentation and a storage cabinet to a dock frame via a docking interface of the dock frame so that the dock frame is coupled to an interfaced with the laboratory instrumentation and the storage cabinet;
• defining, with the dock frame, a spine structure of an automated processing system and arraying a variable number of the at least one of the laboratory instrumentation and the storage cabinet alongside the spine structure, where the dock frame extends longitudinally and has a selectably variable elongated configuration with a selectably variable longitudinal length;
• and
• providing at least one dock frame module, including the docking interface, each of the at least one dock frame module being interchangeable with at least another dock frame module, and having control features with a predetermined relationship to a reference datum of the dock frame module and with a reference datum of the dock frame, formed of more than one of the at least one dock frame module and relating the dock frame to each of the more than one dock frame modules, so that the at least one dock frame module is interchangeably coupled in linear configuration with at least the other dock frame module so as to select the variable elongated configuration and longitudinal length of the dock frame from a number of different elongated configurations and longitudinal lengths of the dock frame.