Table 2.
Workload comparison between manual and automated biofilm time-lapse photo recording (7-day time-lapse movie).
| Timeline | Procedure | Manual recording (man-hour) | Automated recording (man-hour) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st day | Preparation of growth media (liquid and solid) | 2 | 2 |
| 2nd day | Plating-out the frozen stock culture | 0.25 | 0.25 |
| 3rd day | Preparation and inoculation of overnight culture | 0.25 | 0.25 |
| 4th day | Plate inoculation and start of photo recording | 24 | 0.1 |
| 5th day | Recording photographs with focus correction | 24 | 0.1 |
| 6th day | Recording photographs with focus correction | 24 | 0.1 |
| 7th day | Recording photographs with focus correction | 24 | 0.1 |
| 8th day | Recording photographs with focus correction | 24 | 0.1 |
| 9th day | Recording photographs with focus correction | 24 | 0.1 |
| 10th day | Recording photographs with focus correction | 24 | 0.1 |
| 11th day | Photo-processing (time tagging and scale-bar) | 1 | 1 |
| 11th day | Assembling the photographs into a time-lapse video | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Total workload | 173 | 5.7 |