Foreword

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Abstract
A colleague of mine started his physics experiment at 4:30 p.m. the other day and went home. For the next twelve hours a digital computer controlled the apparatus and recorded the data. In the morning these data in their refined and reduced form were available for interpretation. In another laboratory analytical chemists have attached a number of digital computers to their instruments for more reliable and faster analyses. These are only a couple of examples which illustrate possible benefits from laboratory automation. The anticipation of automated biological and physical laboratories in space and data acquisition from instruments for the comprehensive care of critically ill patients have been discussed in the press and are reportedly being developed and implemented. Today, the capability for many exciting possibilities of laboratory automation exists. Laboratory automation with a digital computer can readily be done for many experiments. We therefore felt that it would be useful to devote an issue of the IBM Journal of Research and Development to the subject. These are reports of original work in the field of experimentation aided by digital computers. They include descriptions of functioning systems involving some aspect of data acquisition, open and closed loop control, and real-time data analysis through the use of devices such as an interactive graphic terminal. Needless to say, this is not the first mention or discussion of advanced topics in laboratory automation. A partial bibliography of recent literature is included at the end of this Foreword. Note that most of the works cited are from 1966 on and indicate the emergence of the field. With the references from the papers in this issue, the papers themselves, and this bibliography, a worker interested in the subject should have a good start. The rapid advance of the field precludes much more than that.

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