King's Autonomous Labs is a new initiative helping researchers use artificial intelligence, robotics and automation to accelerate experiments, supported by a £150,000 funding programme.
King's College London has launched a cross-university initiative to accelerate scientific discovery using artificial intelligence, robotics and laboratory automation. King's Autonomous Labs begins with a £150,000 fund for researchers to test new approaches.
To develop self-driving laboratories, the initiative combines artificial intelligence, laboratory automation, robotics, sensors and data. These connected systems can run experiments, analyse the results and use the evidence to decide what to test next.
Researchers, technical professionals and external partners will gain access to experimental platforms and infrastructure through KAL. The initiative is designed to extend what scientists and laboratory staff can test, rather than replace their expertise.
A £150,000 internal funding call will support rapid, six-month proof-of-concept projects focused on living systems. Their complexity and constant change make them a demanding test for technologies that must adapt experiments as new results emerge. The pilot projects are expected to generate data, prototypes and new experimental processes. Lessons from these projects will help King's develop expertise, tools and infrastructure that can be applied beyond living systems and across a wider range of scientific disciplines.
The initiative forms part of the King's Institute for Artificial Intelligence programme Doing Science Well with AI, which gives researchers the tools and skills to pursue responsible, innovative and robust scientific discovery.
Scientists will remain in control by defining each project's scope and safeguards, and KAL aims to develop governance for the safe and responsible use of these systems.
Automated systems can already run experiments and analyse results, but KAL will test technologies that can also propose and carry out the next step. By connecting laboratory equipment, sensors, data and AI, these systems could help researchers adapt experiments as results emerge, while reducing the time needed to test, observe and learn.
KAL represents an exciting opportunity to bring together expertise from across King's in artificial intelligence, robotics, laboratory automation and experimental science. By connecting these strengths, we aim to accelerate scientific discovery, support interdisciplinary collaboration and establish King's as a leader in the development of autonomous laboratories.
Professor Deepak Srivastava, Professor of Molecular Neuroscience
The wider opportunities and challenges of using AI agents in research will also be explored at the King's AI Summit: Agents of Science. The one-day event will bring together researchers, technologists, healthcare professionals and innovators on Thursday 12 November, hosted by the King's Institute for Artificial Intelligence.
