The Work That Built Trust

For most of our history, HighRes has been defined by what we build: automation platforms that work, that last, and that quietly power some of the most advanced laboratories in the world. We earned trust by showing up when systems were complex, timelines were tight, and failure wasn’t an option.

Many organizations have been using HighRes automation for years. What’s less visible is how significantly we’ve been evolving beneath the surface. While our systems continued to run reliably in labs around the world, we were investing, steadily and deliberately, in what would come next. We’ve also been honest about the truth of our own business. The systems we built were powerful, but they required experts to configure, deploy, and operate them. That was acceptable when automation was a specialty. It isn’t anymore.

Why the Laboratory Model Had to Change

Science today isn’t limited by imagination. It’s limited by access to the tools that turn imagination into reproducible reality. Too many scientists are still waiting, for budget approval, for automation engineers, for someone else to make the system work. We decided that had to change.

Over the past several years, we’ve done the hard work of evolving, organizationally, technically, and culturally. Not to chase a trend, but to prepare for a moment we knew was coming: a technological inflection point where intelligence, orchestration, and accessibility would finally make advanced automation usable by everyone. The answer wasn’t to simplify our technology. It was to make it intelligent.

Today, our lab designer allows customers to design and validate their own systems using the knowledge we’ve compiled over more than twenty years. Our robots teach themselves. Cellario Lab Assistant guides scientists through complex workflows, ensuring that someone running their first automated experiment has access to the same expertise as a veteran automation engineer. And our platform recovers from errors automatically, because reliability shouldn’t depend on who’s watching.

A New Era of Scientific Software

This isn’t automation for experts anymore. It’s automation that creates experts.

That is the shift this brand refresh reflects. It’s a deliberate expression of how HighRes has evolved, communicating the precision and intelligence of our technology and the human ingenuity driving it. It aligns how we show up in the world with what HighRes has become: a company focused on removing friction from science, enabling laboratories to operate as cohesive, responsive systems, and giving every scientist the freedom to push beyond yesterday’s limits.

You’ll see that philosophy throughout our website: in how we talk about orchestration, in systems like Nucleus and Prime, and in how we think about the future of laboratory operations. These pages document what’s already happening in labs around the world.

Why now? Because the technology is finally ready. Because science can’t afford to wait for access. And neither can we.

MicroDock: Our First Breakthrough Innovation

2004
CellarioOS brings together automated systems, standalone instruments, and human tasks into a single orchestration layer. Manual and automated steps coexist within the same workflow, enabling laboratories to digitize and coordinate the full scientific process rather than isolated segments.

Building A Modular Automation Business

2005
HighRes pioneers modular automated workcells for pharmaceutical research. These early systems were installed at customer sites to support foundational workflows in drug discovery and life sciences. Many of the components and system designs from this era have proven remarkably durable and some are still in use today, reflecting our commitment to building automation that evolves with science rather than becoming obsolete.

Expanding into
New Realms

2011
By 2011, HighRes had grown into a global automation company supporting customers across the life sciences. Today, with more than 300 employees worldwide, our application portfolio spans drug discovery, genomics, synthetic biology, and beyond. Our North American headquarters in Beverly, Massachusetts houses offices, assembly and machine shops, electronics labs, and a dedicated customer showroom. Our European headquarters in Manchester, England enables us to deliver localized applications and service expertise to customers across the region.

A New Era of Lab Orchestration

2023
In 2023, HighRes launched Cellario OS, redefining how science is planned, executed, and reviewed. By unifying instruments, workflows, and data within a single orchestration layer, Cellario OS enables laboratories to move seamlessly from scientific intent to execution and insight. The platform integrates diverse devices and software into cohesive, scalable workflows, transforming fragmented automation into a connected system for scientific operations.

Advancing Autonomous Automation

2024
In 2024, HighRes introduced AutoPod, advancing toward truly autonomous laboratory operations. Built on the Nucleus Automation Infrastructure, AutoPod combines next-generation modular automation with advanced control software. The platform encapsulates highly modular laboratory hardware and orchestration software into a powerful central automation framework that adapts to a wide range of workflows and scientific needs.

The Future Is Bright

Today
As we continue to lead the market with purposeful automation innovation, our focus remains on enabling the Lab of the Future. We are committed to helping customers design, execute, and analyze science more effectively through interoperable systems and unified data. By advancing flexible, scalable, and reusable data practices, we aim to maximize scientific insight and accelerate discovery.

Building Value Together

In 2015, HighRes Biosolutions was added to the portfolio of diverse and industry-leading companies at Axel Johnson, Inc. As a private investment company founded in 1920, Axel Johnson builds businesses that have both a positive social and financial impact for all stakeholders.

→ Visit Axel Johnson, Inc

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Devices

Applications

About HighRes

The Work That Built Trust

Why the Laboratory Model Had to Change

A New Era of Scientific Software

A Brief History of HighRes