The eLabBench in the wild

Abstract

In this paper we present a field trial of the eLabBench, a digital tabletop-based laboratory bench designed to support the exploratory practices of molecular biologists in the laboratory. The eLabBench supports the organization of personal information, capture of experimental work for later access, and the use of a variety of computational resources directly at the lab bench. We deployed the eLabBench in a biology laboratory for 16 weeks, and invited seven molecular biologists to run experiments on it. We report on how they used the bench and how it fitted within their larger experimental process. The main impact of the eLabBench lies in the changes it sparked off in preparing, running, and documenting lab experiments. By supporting computation at the bench and management of physical objects in the office, the eLabBench blurred the separation between office and laboratory work. Based on our observations, we discuss how interactive systems for laboratories such as the eLabBench can support a more exploratory or design-oriented way of 'doing' science.

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