Tecan's software on Windows passes an authentication key to the robot hardware in order to allow 3rd party software to send the robot commands. Otherwise, only Tecan's own software can send the robot any commands. [*But see Note below] If the Windows box does not have the authentication key, then the Tecan software doesn't allow 3rd party software any method to send commands to the robot. Tecan does this to enforce royalties or licensing or other typical biz practices. The hardware isn't really "open" unless you buy the key [*But see Note below].
Without the dongle, it was possible to run Tecan's own version of Gemini (PC software) to control the Genesis Robot. Other LIMS system software is 3rd party though, so might require the dongle. Maybe for the Freedom, Tecan tightened up the controls.
Certainly with the newer USB robots (no longer serial bus controlled), the robot makers are keeping the communications under tighter control. I approached a couple companies as a 3rd party developer and they immediately requested signing NDA before any details of their robot would be provided. Part of the NDA restricted any open source release of info, too. They're trying to protect their turf more than in the past. (Cavro became ad hoc industry standard for a while, so details were much more was open, and also the devices were simpler/dumber, so command formats were also simple.)
[*Note] - it is possible to send commands directly to some of Tecan's robots by using raw serial or CAN bus protocol. The commands are documented in my open source Bio Robotics software (free for the taking). This requires some low level computer knowledge. For example, a USB-to-serial or USB-to-CAN bus converter could drive the robot directly from any host, if the correct communications protocol is used (simple header for device address, etc, if I remember right).
[*Note 2] - it is possible to hack a bypass to the authentication key by cloning or etc. It's a simple key exchange, after all, and there are grey-market imposter keys which can mimic the real Tecan keys.
The cost of the key is something around $3000 +/- or at least that was the price when I saw a purchase order for one.
## Jonathan Cline
## jcline@ieee.org
## Mobile: +1-805-617-0223
########################
On Wednesday, April 24, 2013 12:19:28 PM UTC-7, Bryan Bishop wrote:
On Wed, Apr 24, 2013 at 2:10 PM, Benjamin Lack <ben...@gmail.com> wrote:--
> It is… But it doesn't come with the dongle and you can't run the software
> that drives this without the Dongle.
Jonathan, is that true? Or have you also reversed how the dongle works
in the Perl module?
- Bryan
http://heybryan.org/
1 512 203 0507
-- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups DIYbio group. To post to this group, send email to diybio@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to diybio+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at https://groups.google.com/d/forum/diybio?hl=en
Learn more at www.diybio.org
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "DIYbio" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to diybio+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to diybio@googlegroups.com.
Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/diybio?hl=en.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msg/diybio/-/Rb-mqfASsLsJ.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
0 comments:
Post a Comment