Lab Donkey Drivers expose the full functionality of each instrument so teams can access every action and parameter without restriction. Devices communicate through flexible interfaces including REST, pub/sub, SiLA 2, and NATS, with gRPC support coming soon.
Vendor-neutral | REST, Pub/Sub, SiLA 2 & NATS | gRPC coming soon | Simulation Mode | Versioned & Rollback-safe
Lab Donkey Drivers bridge the gap between your instruments and the automation platform, so you can focus on science, not integration.
Connect instruments over REST APIs, TCP/IP sockets, or serial ports with a single, consistent driver interface.
Each driver runs in its own container, isolated and independently deployable. Update one driver without touching the rest of your system.
Semantic versioning for every driver. Roll back to a known-good version in seconds if something goes wrong.
Test workflows without real hardware. Simulation mode responds with realistic timing and status so you can validate before going live.
Built-in health checks and status reporting for every connected instrument. Know what's online, busy, or errored at a glance.
No vendor lock-in. Work with us to build drivers for your instruments, or use the open model to create your own.
Define the control surface you need: core commands, status queries, and error codes for your instrument.
We deliver an incremental driver so you can begin testing quickly, then expand as your workflow grows.
Validate using simulation mode before connecting to real hardware. Run dry tests with realistic timing.
Deploy as a versioned container. Update, rollback, or scale independently of other drivers and services.
Connect and control any instrument with containerised, versioned drivers.
Orchestrates instruments and robots end to end using drivers for device communication.
Guides people through bench work, triggering connected instruments via drivers where it makes sense.
Drivers are the foundation that connects your instruments. Use them with SUITE for full orchestration, with STEPS for guided execution, or both.
Lab Donkey Drivers work with any instrument that exposes a control interface - REST APIs, TCP/IP sockets, serial ports, or vendor SDKs. We maintain a growing library of pre-built drivers and can build new ones for your specific instruments.
Yes. The driver model is open and well-documented. You can develop your own drivers using our framework, or work with our team to co-develop them. Either way, they plug into the platform the same way.
Each driver is independently versioned and containerised. Update one driver without affecting any other part of the system. If an update causes issues, roll back to the previous version in seconds.
Simulation mode lets drivers respond with realistic timing, status, and behaviour without real hardware. This means you can develop, test, and validate workflows before instruments are physically available or connected.