[Dawning of laboratory automation; individually constructed automated systems].

In the early stages of laboratory automation, the first step toward automation was the use of a spectrophotometer equipped with a flow cell system. Then, automated machines were introduced. Furthermore, computing systems, which are necessary for automated machine systems, contributed to advances in laboratory automation. Under these primitive conditions, we devised a data processing system for clinical biochemistry and further advanced the first stage of automated laboratory system. These automated systems have gradually matured in to a total laboratory automation system. As described in this report, we designed and developed an automated system in our laboratory.