Talk2Lab: The Smart Lab of the Future

In today's world of advancing technology, pervasive and ubiquitous systems have become more common, and have been adapted for many different areas of use. The Internet-of-Things (IoT) movement has increased in popularity, and there are now many affordable, customizable smart devices available for various purposes. These devices are commonly found in the home, but have yet to infiltrate the scientific laboratory in the same way. Some laboratories do use IoT devices to control and monitor equipment, but smart laboratories just do not exist in the same way as smart homes, until now. This article introduces the use cases for a smart integrated laboratory, and describes a prototype system, Talk2Lab, that was implemented in an experimental laser facility. Talk2Lab uses a combination of sensors, Raspberry Pis, camera feeds, and multiple interaction methods (voice, text, and visual dashboards) to facilitate laboratory communication. It was evaluated by the laboratory users for usability, and to identify potential areas of expansion. The work to date illustrates the type of systems that can be created using IoT devices. From the results of the user evaluation, we have conceptualized a future vision for Talk2Lab: a fully interconnected laboratory of the future.