Collaborative Research: NSF Workshop on Automated, Programmable and Self Driving Labs

实验室自动化提高了科学实验的精度和效率。低成本传感器、执行器、机器人系统和控制系统的进步降低了进入实验室自动化的门槛，使得完全自动驾驶的实验室将有可能实现新的科学实验实践，并加快科学探索进程。迫切需要为自动驾驶实验室制定原则和方法。这些系统可能会借鉴在数据科学、人机交互、制造和质量控制、开源生态系统和实验室科学方法方面学到的最佳做法和经验。拟议的研讨会将召集自动驾驶实验室和相关领域的领导人，包括数据科学、机器人、制造和开源生态系统，以确定自动驾驶实验室的路线图。专家们将讨论自动化样品制备、实验生成、数据收集和数据分析方面的最新进展和当前挑战。讲习班将帮助确定主要主题，并评估如何在研究背景下最好地支持未来相互关联的目标。通过召集社区领袖围绕相关主题，研讨会将在能够支持广泛科学的基础设施上促成跨学科合作，其中可能包括更复杂的实验，以加速科学发现并执行具有成本效益的验证和验证。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Laboratory automation increases precision and efficiency of science experiments. Advances in low-cost sensors, actuators, robotic systems, and control systems have lowered the barrier to entry to laboratory automation such that fully self-driving labs will have the potential to enable new practices of science experiment and to accelerate scientific exploration progress. There is a critical need to develop the principles and methodologies for self-driving laboratories. These systems will likely draw from best practices and experiences learned in data science, human-machine interaction, manufacturing and quality control, open-source ecosystems, and laboratory science methods. The proposed workshop will convene leaders in self-driving laboratories and related areas including data science, robotics, manufacturing, and open-source ecosystems to define a roadmap for self-driving laboratories. Experts will discuss on latest advances and current challenges in automated sample preparation, experiment generation, data collection, and data analysis. The workshop will help identify major themes and assess on how future, interconnected goals can be best supported in a research context. By convening community leader around related topics, the workshop will seed cross-discipline collaboration on infrastructure that can support a broad range of sciences, which may include more complex experiments to accelerate scientific discovery and perform cost effective verification and validation.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.