During the Second World War, British military statisticians managed to estimate the number of German Panzer tanks in circulation according to the simple formula (M-1)(S+1)/S. Simply by having a series of serial numbers and taking the maximum M and the sample size S they produced an accurate estimate (read more about this).
Now in 2010 we want to try the same thing, but this time to establish the true number of high-throughput sequencers shipped to laboratories world-wide. We will hopefully be able to use the same principle, assuming the serial numbers are sequential. In conjunction with the data from the high-throughput sequencing map this should provide the most detailed snapshot of the sequencing market so far.
If you want to take part (anonymously), simply enter your serial number and approximate installation date, as well as your geographic location (state and country will do). We'll check the submissions and post the results here.
28 submissions received so far!
Please post comments on this SeqAnswers thread.
Credits: This idea came from an original thread on SeqAnswers.com. KMCarr suggested to look at serial numbers and Dan Bolser pointed out the German tank problem.