ECE Seminar: Seou Choi

ECE Seminar: Seou Choi

Title: Toward Self-Driving Optics Laboratories with Robotics

Abstract: Robots now run synthesis in chemistry labs and assays in biology labs. Optics, though one of the most foundational experimental domains, has been left behind. In the lab, optical systems still depend almost entirely on manual assembly and alignment — largely because optical experiments are highly reconfigurable, precision-constrained, and governed by tightly coupled physical observables that resist any fixed, predefined setup.

In this talk, I will present a robotics framework we have developed that autonomously assembles, aligns, and maintains complex optical systems. I will first lay out the fundamental challenges above, then show how we address each of them in turn. Our approach combines a hierarchical computer vision system, feedback-driven spatial and angular optimization routines, and custom-built hardware — including standardized optical component housings and a motorized tool that turns the fine-adjustment knobs of optical mounts. As a demonstration, our platform constructs a tabletop Nd:YAG laser cavity entirely from scratch, starting from randomly placed components on the optical table. Once the optical design is set by the human operator, the platform places and aligns every element autonomously, reaches lasing, and optimizes the transverse laser mode. It then recovers on its own after the setup is deliberately knocked out of alignment. I will then discuss what stands between our current framework and a truly autonomous optical laboratory. This includes challenges in experiment design and physics-aware planning, as well as open questions in perception and control that the field has yet to fully solve. I will close with ongoing work and an outlook toward cloud laboratories and self-driving optics labs. In these settings, experimental setups are no longer static, hand-built constructs — they become dynamically controlled, self-correcting systems that adjust continuously as conditions change.

Bio: Seou Choi is a PhD candidate in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), advised by Prof. Marin Soljačić. He received his MS in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT in 2024, where he worked on photonic computing. His current research interests include photonic computing, quantum optics, nanophotonics, and physical AI. He is a recipient of the EECS MathWorks Fellowship and the KFAS PhD Study-Abroad Fellowship.