Solutions to many of the world's problems depend upon materials research and development. However, advanced materials can take decades to discover and decades more to fully deploy. Humans and robots have begun to partner to advance science and technology orders of magnitude faster than humans do today through the development and exploitation of closed-loop, autonomous experimentation systems. This review discusses the specific challenges and opportunities related to materials discovery and development that will emerge from this new paradigm. Our perspective incorporates input from stakeholders in academia, industry, government laboratories, and funding agencies. We outline the current status, barriers, and needed investments, culminating with a vision for the path forward. We intend the article to spark interest in this emerging research area and to motivate potential practitioners by illustrating early successes. We also aspire to encourage a creative reimagining of the next generation of materials science infrastructure. To this end, we frame future investments in materials science and technology, hardware and software infrastructure, artificial intelligence and autonomy methods, and critical workforce development for autonomous research.

世界上许多问题的解决方案取决于材料的研究和开发。然而，先进材料的发现可能需要几十年的时间，而完全部署则需要几十年的时间。人类和机器人已经开始合作，通过开发和利用闭环、自主实验系统，以比人类今天更快的速度推进科学和技术。这篇综述讨论了与材料发现和开发相关的特定挑战和机遇，这些挑战和机遇将从这种新范式中出现。我们的观点结合了学术界、工业界、政府实验室和资助机构的利益相关者的意见。我们概述了当前的状态、障碍和所需的投资，并以对前进道路的愿景告终。我们打算通过这篇文章来激发人们对这个新兴研究领域的兴趣，并通过说明早期的成功来激励潜在的从业者。我们还渴望鼓励对下一代材料科学基础设施进行创造性的重新构想。为此，我们为未来在材料科学和技术、硬件和软件基础设施、人工智能和自主方法以及自主研究的关键劳动力开发方面的投资制定了框架。