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When thousands of samples need to be processed, every step counts. In the ELARA project, chemical park operator CURRENTA and robotics company Wandelbots are exploring how digital twins and robotics can automate the complex, highly variable processes of an environmental laboratory. In the future, robots could take on routine tasks such as pipetting and sample handling, including work involving direct contact with potentially hazardous substances. Workplace safety is therefore a key focus: the aim is to reduce employees’ direct handling of these substances. The project also aims to shorten processing times and increase availability.
Sensitive laboratory data remains protected. T-Systems provides a sovereign infrastructure through the Industrial AI Cloud, where data is processed within the European legal framework. The partners will present ELARA at the NVIDIA GPU Technology Conference (GTC) in Berlin from October 20 to 22, 2026.
The principle is simple: simulate first, automate second. Before robots are deployed in the laboratory, they rehearse their tasks in a digital twin. The simulation is designed to help identify potential errors at an early stage. T-Systems provides the sovereign infrastructure for the NVIDIA Isaac Sim simulation environment and for the Wandelbots NOVA components used in the Industrial AI Cloud. This enables the partners to develop and validate robotic laboratory workflows on NVIDIA GPU-accelerated infrastructure hosted in Germany.
ELARA combines Wandelbots NOVA with NVIDIA Isaac Sim, which is based on NVIDIA Omniverse, to model and validate robotic laboratory workflows in a physics-based digital twin. Wandelbots’ NOVA extension for Isaac Sim can simulate and test robot movements before workflows are transferred to physical robots. OpenUSD provides the basis for the 3D scene and robot models, while NVIDIA PhysX enables physics-based simulation. The partners have already recreated the laboratory workflows, calculated their economic viability and defined the technical setup.
On this basis, the partners are exploring the potential for implementing the workflows with real robots at a later stage.
Europe’s and its industry’s greatest asset lies in their data. ELARA shows how this data can be used to trial complex laboratory workflows virtually and prepare them for robotic deployment. The Industrial AI Cloud provides the sovereign computing power needed—and lays the foundation for easing employees’ workload in routine tasks and potentially hazardous procedures in the future
“Europe’s and its industry’s greatest asset lies in their data. ELARA shows how this data can be used to trial complex laboratory workflows virtually and prepare them for robotic deployment. The Industrial AI Cloud provides the sovereign computing power needed—and lays the foundation for easing employees’ workload in routine tasks and potentially hazardous procedures in the future,” says Ferri Abolhassan, CEO of T-Systems.
“For CURRENTA as a chemical park operator, digitalization and automation are key areas of development. They enable greater workplace safety and better availability, ultimately delivering significantly more value to our customers. Laboratory requirements are highly specific, so we are pleased to be developing the first prototype together with our partners Wandelbots and T-Systems,” says Hans Gennen, COO of CURRENTA.
ELARA stands for “Environmental Laboratory Automation and Robotics for Analytics.” The concept is designed to represent different laboratory processes and robot types in a digital environment. Examples include standardized steps in the processing of water and wastewater samples.
The particular challenge is that, unlike highly standardized laboratories, CURRENTA processes smaller quantities of diverse samples, with workflows and requirements that vary. Laboratory automation is intended to relieve employees of repetitive tasks and give them more time for complex assessments and consulting. In the future, robotic systems could take on tasks that regularly bring employees into contact with potentially hazardous substances or contaminated wastewater samples.
“Fully automated analytics already exists, for example for large volumes of identical samples in clinical testing. Our laboratory work, by contrast, involves a wide variety of samples and changing workflows. With a digital twin, we want to explore how these varied laboratory processes can also be automated flexibly,” says Thomas Westfeld, project manager at CURRENTA.
Wandelbots NOVA robotics software makes it possible to transfer simulated workflows to real robots at a later stage and centrally control their deployment. Over time, data from laboratory operations will feed back into the simulation, allowing workflows to be continuously improved. The Industrial AI Cloud provides the computing power required.
Wandelbots has been part of the Industrial AI Cloud partner network since its launch in February 2026. The company uses its AI computing power to connect digital twins of production facilities and manufacturing data with robotics, and to develop AI applications for manufacturing.
With CURRENTA, the Industrial AI Cloud is expanding its range of applications to include laboratory automation. The company operates CHEMPARK, with sites in Leverkusen, Dormagen and Krefeld. In the ELARA project, Wandelbots contributes its NOVA software platform, while CURRENTA brings its expertise in laboratory processes. T-Systems provides sovereign AI infrastructure and computing power from Munich, and connects technology partners with users. ELARA is establishing the technical foundations for future robot-assisted laboratory processes.
