Autonomous laboratories integrate artificial intelligence with automated experimentation and advanced instrumentation to dramatically accelerate scientific discovery. At Oak Ridge National Laboratory, researchers are developing interconnected research platforms that combine AI, leadership-class computing, and cutting-edge instrumentation into an emerging ecosystem of self-driving labs. These prototype “Labs of the Future” are paving the way for a new generation of AI-driven scientific discovery.
Progress in many of the modern sciences depends on the ability to explore complex relationships, analyze increasingly unwieldy datasets, and rapidly test new ideas. Traditional experimental workflows—where scientists design, perform, and analyze experiments sequentially—can struggle to keep pace with the scale and complexity of today’s scientific challenges.
Self-driving laboratories offer a new model for scientific discovery by designing, executing, and analyzing experiments in closed feedback loops that allow researchers to rapidly explore complex scientific spaces. In these systems, AI models propose experimental conditions, automated instruments synthesize materials or prepare samples, and characterization tools measure results. Machine learning algorithms analyze the resulting data and determine the most promising next experiments, allowing scientists to focus on interpreting results, collaborating with peers, and guiding research priorities.
This approach creates a continuous design–build–test–learn cycle that connects AI-driven modeling with real-world experimentation. Scientists remain central to the process, empowered to attend to the highest-impact aspects of their work while AI and automation accelerate experimental workflows.
Ensuring AI systems and self-driving labs are operated securely and transparently is a central priority for researchers at ORNL.
Researchers are also developing safeguards for data governance, cybersecurity, and responsible use of artificial intelligence to ensure autonomous scientific platforms operate reliably and generate valid results.
ORNL has spent several years developing the foundations for an ecosystem of self-driving labs, and the INTERSECT initiative is a central driver of this work. Through INTERSECT, ORNL is developing the physical and software infrastructure needed to support autonomous science at scale. The program integrates artificial intelligence, automated laboratory instrumentation, and high-performance computing into a shared software and data ecosystem that allows experiments, simulations, and analysis tools to operate and improve together in coordinated workflows.
Building on this foundation, researchers across the laboratory are expanding autonomous research capabilities in multiple scientific disciplines. These efforts position ORNL to play a leading role in the Department of Energy’s Genesis Mission, a nationwide initiative aimed at accelerating scientific discovery using artificial intelligence and advanced computing.
