The Bench Is Changing

A scientist works beside an automated laboratory arm, each handling part of the same experiment. AstraZeneca’s new Cambridge research center is an early example of automation moving deeper into highly skilled scientific work—not simply replacing researchers, but changing what they are responsible for doing. The human role shifts toward designing experiments, interpreting results and managing increasingly automated systems. The visual captures that transition at the laboratory bench: the scientist remains central, but the work around them is being reorganized by robotics and automation.