Robotic cloud platform makes flexible optical experiments easier
A Programmable Optics Cloud Laboratory
Robotics
Summary
Experiments with light and lenses can be really hard to set up because the parts need careful positioning and often must be changed as new tests are done. The authors made a robotic cloud lab called PICO that helps control these experiments remotely and automatically. PICO lets different users program and run experiments over the internet, and it keeps track of versions to make experiments repeatable. They showed that this setup works well for managing optical experiments that need precise alignment and reconfiguration.
What this means in practice
- •For optical engineering teams: Control and reconfigure complex optical experiments remotely with robotic automation to speed up research and reduce manual setup errors.
- •For robotics developers: Develop flexible robotic interfaces that support multiple user modes including interactive control, scripting, and autonomous routines for precision tasks.
- •For telemedicine device manufacturers: Integrate robotic optics labs into cloud services for remote testing and calibration of medical imaging devices from a distance.$Commercial implications: Enables selling remote-controlled optical calibration services that reduce the need for on-site device servicing.
Authors
Sachin Vaidya, Caio Silva, Seou Choi, Joshua Chen, Marin Soljačić
Abstract
Laboratory automation can improve experimental throughput, accessibility, and reproducibility, but many robotic laboratory systems remain difficult to reconfigure. This challenge is especially pronounced in free-space optics, where experiments are built from heterogeneous components, require precise alignment, and are frequently rearranged as experimental goals change. In this work, we present the Programmable Infrastructure for Cloud Optics (PICO), a robotic cloud-laboratory architecture designed to make reconfigurable optical experiments easier to program, operate, and reproduce. PICO provides a common domain-specific abstraction and software layer through which experimental configurations and actions can be controlled across different user interfaces. This enables the same physical laboratory to support remote interactive use, scripted experiments, autonomous routines, and features such as version control. We implement PICO on a robotic free-space optics platform and demonstrate it through an experimental case study.