Science Family skills: An Alexa Assistant Tailored for Laboratory Routine

Abstract

Voice User Interfaces such as Amazon Alexa and Google Home are already widely available and used for personal purposes. These services could be used to improve experimental biology laboratory routine, facilitate troubleshooting and increase efficiency. Till date, no applications that are tailored to enhance laboratory routine have been made available. Here, we present a set of free-to-use, open source tools adapted to Alexa for application in the laboratory environment, with prospects of enhancing productivity and reducing work-related stress. All skills, 3D printer model and source codes are freely available in the Alexa app store and in GitHub.