TECHNOLOGY SUMMARY

We have built “Ada”, the world’s first integrated self-driving laboratory for thin film materials discovery. Ada is automated, autonomous, and adaptable for a variety of materials systems. Advanced robotics and AI equip our self-driving platforms like Ada with the capacity to make, test, and learn from new materials on the fly. Leveraging automation in materials science enables higher research throughput, and AI-driven autonomy crucially facilitates more efficient exploration. Together, these strategies have the potential to revolutionize the R&D process: our self-driving laboratories will accelerate materials development over 10x relative to conventional approaches. Automation has already resulted in unparalleled advances in many fields; however, its implementation in materials science is in its infancy due to complexity of laboratory workflows and challenges associated with the integration of material synthesis with analysis. The limited equipment options that are commercially available for automating materials development have long lead times, and these units are customized for a very specific and fixed experimental workflow. Our approach embraces versatility, and allows for rapid and ongoing design and implementation of flexible hardware and software. A video of Ada in action after only 6 months of development can be viewed here: https://bit.ly/2CUjhwg.

AREA/MATURITY/AWARDS

Primary Application Area: Materials, Chemical

Technology Development Status: Prototype

Technology Readiness Level: TRL 4

SHOWCASE SUMMARY

Organization Type: Academic/Gov Lab

Showcase Booth #: 27T

Website: https://groups.chem.ubc.ca/cberling/

GOVT/EXTERNAL FUNDING SOURCES