Labautomation for Everyone and Every Thing
StainSTORM started from a simple idea: if we want spatial biology workflows to be truly reproducible and scalable at different lab sites, the “lab” itself has to become something we can deploy, version, and operate like software in a very distributed manner. The project (or rather multiple projects such as the TAB-funded RunFAST and the […]
OptiKit: Building the Digital Backbone for Modular Optics
Almost exactly one year ago, we started discussing an idea together with Eugen from Blink that has since grown into a central paradigm of our work at openUC2: bringing our modular optics ecosystem fully into the digital world. We began developing the concept of an optical platform where every optical module; whether a lens, a […]
openUC2 x Autodesk Technology Impact
Why CAD is the quiet engine behind OpenUC2 When people see our microscopes or hold one of our cubes for the first time, they often focus on the optics, the sensors, the flashes of laser light. I get it – that’s the visible part. But the real story starts much earlier, with a sketch that […]
OpenUC2 FRAME: Open-Source Microscopy for Lab Automation and Spatial Biology
Democratizing Lab Automation with Open-Source Microscopy At OpenUC2, our mission goes beyond making microscopy affordable and modular—we want to lower the barrier for lab automation as a whole. With the FRAME microscope, we provide researchers and educators with an open-source, high-throughput imaging platform that can seamlessly integrate into automated workflows. Traditional laboratory automation systems […]
MacGyver Microscop – Technical Unviersity Eindhoven TU/e + openUC2
Two years ago, we packed a big box full of OpenUC2 cubes, lenses and LED arrays and shipped them over to the Eindhoven University of Technology. But why? 50 second-year Biomedical Engineering students had to prepare for the challenge-based learning (CBL) microscopy course where every team had to design, build, calibrate and deploy its own […]
How you can use openUC2’s FRAME in agricultural studies?
Turning Microscopy on Its Side—Literally At OpenUC2 we love testing the limits of modular microscopy. Our newest plant-science rig, inspired by the developments with the Wageningen University in the Netherlands, does exactly that: the entire frame can be rotated 90 ° onto its back. Seedlings stay in their natural, upright orientation, while objective and camera […]
Inclusive Innovation: Volmarstein Workshop Builds OpenUC2 Discovery Line Microscopes
Our mission is to make optical research – from basic microscopy to quantum-physics experiments – modular, affordable and classroom-ready. Our first education-focused product, the Discovery Line, now rolls off the assembly tables of “WerkVol”, the inclusive workshop run by Evangelische Stiftung Volmarstein near Dortmund. Hurray! 🙂 60+ precision parts, Lego-style simplicity Project lead Armin Grundmann […]
I want it now! Many!
A few days ago, a research group approached us for assistance with a rather specific application: imaging a series of well plates in a fully automated workflow. The goal was to inspect multiple wells per plate efficiently and reliably. After a brief phone call, it quickly became clear that this task could be easily tackled […]
Yes, we CAN (BUS)!
Of course, OpenUC2 places a strong emphasis on modularity. The goal is to digitally replicate virtually any optical setup through a flexible system of hardware and firmware (maybe there will be an openMINFLUX Box at one point? 😇). Each component – motors, sensors, illumination modules – can be quickly reconfigured and controlled. Until now, a […]
Microscope with Aluminum Hat (No Conspiracy Theory inlcuded?!)
Ocean Scientists We found the research team “Biological Carbon Pump” at Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon, a research team taking a look at life cycles and interactions of the different organisms in the sea. They look at what types of Plankton (sea organisms from algae to jellyfish to crustaceans) they can observe at different times and at different […]