ThermoDrive is an open-source, Peltier-based system for precise control of temperature in experimental chambers. It supports both stable setpoints and dynamic temperature regimes, allowing temperature to be programmed to change through time while continuously monitoring the experimental environment.
Developed as part of the EmbryoPhenomics toolkit for automated biological experimentation.
Static or dynamic temperature control · Heating and cooling · Programmable regimes · Open hardware and software
Temperature is one of the most important environmental variables affecting biological processes, but experimental temperature control is often limited to incubators, water baths or fixed-temperature systems.
ThermoDrive provides a compact alternative in which Peltier elements are used to actively control experimental temperature under software control.
The system was developed for experiments with developing and small aquatic organisms, but the approach can be adapted to other temperature-controlled experimental systems.
ThermoDrive can be used to:
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maintain a defined experimental temperature
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heat or cool towards a user-defined setpoint
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generate programmable temperature profiles
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produce continuously varying temperature regimes
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monitor temperature during experiments
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record temperature and control data for subsequent analysis
Dynamic regimes can be used to investigate biological responses to controlled changes in temperature through time.