Agilent Bravo

You'll go from a powered-on Bravo to an installed, initialized connector, and confirm it with one script. The Agilent manuals cover instrument installation, maintenance, and safety. To operate the instrument, see the Agilent Bravo guides.

This page applies to connector version 0.9.0 and later.

What you need

Connect the Bravo to the computer

The Bravo talks to the connector over Ethernet, at a fixed IP address set on the Bravo's controller. The computer needs an address on the same subnet to reach it.

1. Find the Bravo's IP address and subnet mask. Start with 192.168.0.8, the connector's default. If the Bravo doesn't answer there, find its address with Bravo Diagnostics, as described in Creating and managing profiles in Agilent's Bravo Platform User Guide.
2. Connect the Bravo's Ethernet cable to the computer, or to a network switch the computer is also on.
3. On a direct cable, give the computer's Ethernet connection a static address in the Bravo's subnet, with the same subnet mask and no gateway. For example, for a Bravo at 192.168.0.8 with the mask 255.255.255.0, use 192.168.0.10:
   • Windows: Settings, Network & internet, Ethernet, IP assignment, Edit. Choose Manual and turn on IPv4.
   • macOS: System Settings, Network, Ethernet, Details, TCP/IP. Set Configure IPv4 to Manually.
   • Linux (GNOME): Settings, Network, the wired connection, IPv4. Choose Manual.
4. With no gateway on the Ethernet connection, internet traffic keeps using your other connection. On macOS, also keep Wi-Fi above Ethernet in the service order.

Install and configure the connector

1. In GroundControl, add a device. Search the registry for Agilent Bravo and download the newest release (how to add a connector).
2. Fill in the general configuration:

   Field	Value
   Simulation Mode	Off for the real instrument, which is the default
   Bravo IP	The Bravo's IP address. The default is 192.168.0.8
   Head Type	The installed head: 96LT (the default), 96ST, or 384ST
   Head AD Counts	Leave empty. The connector checks the head type when it connects and logs what it reads
   Safe Z Height	0, the default. Z 0 is the top of the head's travel, and the head moves in X and Y only above this height
   Gripper Y Offset	0, the default. The gripper offset is set during calibration
   Teachpoint Calibrations	Leave empty. Calibration sets the teachpoints. Edit them only through calibration
   XML Config Path	Leave empty. The connector uses the Agilent system configuration bundled for your head type. Set it only to a system configuration file from Agilent Service Utility for your instrument
   Position Poll Interval	0.1, the default

3. Under Local Network, note the Name. Scripts find the connector by this name. It's Bravo by default, and this page uses that.
4. Start the connector.
5. Check the logs. Expand the connector row in GroundControl, or open ~/.unitelabs/connectors/<connector-id>/connector.log. Look for three things:
   • Connected to Bravo successfully,
   • A line confirming the head type, for example Head type 96LT verified,
   • No errors logged during startup.
   
   If a move error was logged during startup, restart the connector before you continue.

To change the configuration later, edit it in the existing connector row, save it, then restart the connector. That keeps the connector's UUID, so the platform still recognizes it.

First successful test

The script initializes the Bravo with the Liquid Handling SDK and reads back where each axis is. Run it with the SDK authenticated (Connect to Platform), using the connector's name from step 3.

import asyncio

from unitelabs.liquid_handling.agilent import Bravo
from unitelabs.sdk import AsyncApiClient


async def main():
    client = AsyncApiClient()
    bravo = Bravo(name="Bravo", client=client)

    # Homes the axes that need it and switches the motors on
    await bravo.initialize()

    print("Connected:", await bravo.is_connected())
    for axis, position in (await bravo.get_all_positions()).items():
        print(f"{axis}: {position} mm")


asyncio.run(main())

Run it with uv run first_connection.py. Expected:

• Connected: True.
• x, y, z, and w close to 0, for example 0.0001. That's the home position and the safest place to start from.
• gripper is the gap between the gripper jaws, and gripper_z is the gripper's height.

Next steps

A fresh Bravo has no teachpoints, the known positions of its 9 deck locations. The Liquid Handling SDK loads them from the connector when it configures the Bravo, so pipetting starts after calibration.

• Calibrate the teachpoints: bring a tip to the cross on one deck location and set the whole deck from it.
• Tip handling and Basic pipetting: the first liquid handling scripts, once the teachpoints are set.
• Liquid classes and Gripper: tune pipetting and move plates around the deck.
• Recover from a stop: bring the Bravo back after a light-curtain break or an emergency stop.
• Liquid handling: how the SDK models a liquid handler.

Known quirks and errors

Connector reference

Drive the Bravo from Python through the Liquid Handling SDK's Bravo class. It runs the connector's commands in the order the Bravo needs. Use the connector's own modules in GroundControl only for calibration.

Vendor documentation

Operating limits, deck accessories, maintenance, and safety are covered by Agilent's Bravo user guide. This page only covers getting the Bravo connected and tested.