Autobio’s automated workflow system, AutoLas X-1, has won the 2023 iF design award
Recently, the global industrial design’s top award, the 2023 iF Design Award, was officially announced. Autobio, with its independently developed and manufactured automated workflow system, AutoLas X-1, competed alongside nearly 11,000 outstanding entries from 56 countries and regions worldwide. With its unique design concept and user-friendly functionality, AutoLas X-1 stood out and won the prestigious 2023 iF Design Award.
Image Credit: Autobio
Founded in 1953, the iF Design Award is organized annually by the iF Industrie Forum Design, Germany’s oldest industrial design institution. The award, along with Germany’s “Red Dot Award” and the United States’ “IDEA Award,” is known as the “Big Three” international design awards. It is renowned for its independent, rigorous, and reliable judging criteria and is often referred to as the “Oscars of the design industry.” The 2023 iF Design Award jury consisted of 132 design experts from over 20 countries. They evaluated the entries based on five dimensions: concept, aesthetics, functionality, differentiation, and impact, ultimately selecting the works that “point to the future development of the industry” for recognition.
AutoLas X-1 is an automated laboratory workflow system designed for medical diagnostic laboratories. It adopts an “AI-intelligent, modular, and digitally interactive” approach, balancing space optimization and biosafety. It integrates various testing devices through an open interface that is compatible with other types of testing equipment and a transmission system. The system is controlled by intelligent information management software, enabling centralized management of all testing equipment and precise selection of samples in the laboratory. This minimizes personnel management costs and error rates to the maximum extent.
“Simplicity from complexity” is the design concept behind AutoLas X-1. The multitude of equipment types, complex operations, and decentralized management are common challenges in current diagnostic laboratories. AutoLas X-1 achieves full automation of the testing process, greatly improving the accuracy and timeliness of testing while reducing the workload and costs. It enhances the accuracy, timeliness, and safety of diagnostics.
In terms of exterior design, AutoLas X-1 incorporates various natural ecological elements. The transparent cover above the rails resembles a flowing river, connecting with the module-like lakes, forming a complete “ecological water system.” The undulating module shapes create a static “landscape painting,” bringing a sense of tranquility to the busy laboratory. The streamlined body uses acrylic material covers, presenting the entire internal structure to users, enhancing the sense of technology and allowing users to observe the equipment’s operational status.
AutoLas X-1 adopts a three-dimensional track design (resembling an overpass), breaking through the single-layer flat structure. This shortens the sample turnover time, improves transmission speed, and enables an open interface compatible with third-party analyzers. It achieves centralized management of multiple testing systems and allows flexible layout expansion according to the testing process, maximizing space utilization.
Winning the iF Design Award is a highly recognized acknowledgment of Autobio’s innovation and manufacturing capabilities in the international industrial design field. Guided by the mission of “dedicating to the popularization and improvement of medical laboratory technology to serve human health,” Autobio not only focuses on instrument performance and stability but also prioritizes product design and user experience. The company strives to provide the medical laboratory with more and better products and services, ultimately serving the health of the people.
