Shared Autonomy. Human-Centered Lab Automation

Autonomous laboratories must connect software to physical instruments while retaining meaningful scientific input from researchers. This interdisciplinary workshop examines how humans and automated systems can share experimental tasks, with particular attention to fragmented instrument interfaces, sample handling and integration failures. Participants compare robotic orchestration, interoperability, human–robot interaction and reproducibility in physically executed experiments. Examples span microscopy, thin-film polymers, nanoparticle synthesis, antimicrobial discovery, batteries and fuels. The emphasis is on operational workflows and lessons from unsuccessful integrations, rather than autonomous hypothesis generation or data analysis alone.

Invited talks, laboratory tours and discussion sessions run from 11 to 13 November 2026. The published outline opens check-in at 09:00 and talks at 11:00 on 11 November; talks resume at 09:00 on both subsequent days. The closing session is scheduled for 14:15–15:00 on 13 November, followed by informal discussion. Times are local CET (Europe/Berlin). Detailed session assignments will follow. Attendance is free with advance registration; the event language is English.