| Abstract Scope |
Self-driving labs are the future; however, the capital and expertise required can be daunting. We introduce an optimization task for less than $100, a square foot of desk space, and an hour of total setup time from the shopping cart to the first "autonomous drive." We use optics rather than chemistry for our demo. After all, light is easier to move than matter. While not materials-based, several core principles of a self-driving materials discovery lab are retained in this cross-domain example: sending commands to hardware to adjust physical parameters, receiving measured objective properties, decision-making via active learning, and utilizing cloud-based simulations. The demo is accessible, extensible, modular, and repeatable, making it an ideal candidate for low-cost prototyping of self-driving laboratory concepts and learning the principles of self-driving laboratories in a low-risk setting. Extensions to liquid- and solid-mixing demos will be discussed. Come find out how to set up your own miniature self-driving lab! |