Embodied AI Enters Labs: Robots Autonomously Execute Research Workflows
量子位 · wechat · 2026-08-19
The article reports on the entry of embodied AI robots into national-level research laboratories, marking the arrival of the "Lab 3.0" era.
Application Cases:
- SourceLuoke's Monte2 humanoid robots are now in use at a national research platform, capable of autonomously completing hundreds of experimental operations such as reagent handling and cell toxicity testing, with multi-device coordination.
- The goal is to expand the robot count to about 100 by the end of 2027, using AI for unified scheduling to solve bottlenecks in manual operation consistency and throughput.
Core of Lab 3.0:
Distinct from the manual-reliant 1.0 and fixed-program 2.0, Lab 3.0 is "self-driven experimentation empowered by embodied intelligence." SourceLuoke, based on its self-developed OPN (Object-centric Physical Native model), equips robots with three core capabilities:
- Object-centric Scene Understanding: Identifying reagents, instruments, and their interactions.
- Stable Long-process Execution: Supporting cross-device experiments lasting several hours.
- Multimodal Real-time Perception: Fusing vision and force sensing to adapt to dynamic environments with sub-millimeter precision.
The article also covers global trends in autonomous labs, such as Berkeley's A-Lab and the University of Liverpool's research, and announces the "Origin Program" to find 100 partners for AI4S implementation.
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