INS2-1623
Autonomous SAXS Platform Integrating Robotics, Adaptive Acquisition, and Machine Vision Monitoring at the PLS-II 9A Beamline
Topic
S2. High-End Characterization/Polymer Physics/Properties
When and Where
Oct 1, 2026
14:50 - 15:15
Room 103
Session Chairs
Jeong Min JI
Presenter(s)
hyungju ahn (pohang accelerator laboratory)
Co-Author(s)
Abstract
Synchrotron-based Small-Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS) provides rapid and high-resolution structural information at the nanoscale without requiring complex sample preparation. Owing to these advantages, SAXS has been widely applied in diverse areas of materials science. In PLS-II, four SAXS beamlines are currently in operation; however, the growing demand for experiments has made it increasingly difficult to accommodate all user requests within the limited beamtime available. To address this limitation, the development of automated, remote-controlled, and unmanned experimental systems has become essential for improving beamline efficiency.
This seminar introduces a fully autonomous SAXS platform integrating collaborative robotics, adaptive data acquisition, and machine-learning-based vision monitoring at the 9A USAXS beamline of PLS-II. A collaborative robot–based exchange platform (CREP) enables reliable cartridge exchange and module replacement with high positioning reproducibility and stable long-term operation over 14,400 continuous exchange cycles. The adaptive data acquisition (ADA) system autonomously determines optimal exposure times and attenuator conditions based on real-time intensity evaluation, effectively reproducing operator-level decision-making. A machine-learning-based machine vision monitoring (ML-MVM) system enables real-time verification of cartridge mounting integrity and sample positional tolerance, completing the automation workflow. The integrated platform supports autonomous, sequential measurement of up to 2,000 samples per day while maintaining consistent data quality across conventional transmission SAXS (Tr-SAXS), heating Tr-SAXS, and grazing-incidence SAXS (GI-SAXS) experiments.
This seminar introduces a fully autonomous SAXS platform integrating collaborative robotics, adaptive data acquisition, and machine-learning-based vision monitoring at the 9A USAXS beamline of PLS-II. A collaborative robot–based exchange platform (CREP) enables reliable cartridge exchange and module replacement with high positioning reproducibility and stable long-term operation over 14,400 continuous exchange cycles. The adaptive data acquisition (ADA) system autonomously determines optimal exposure times and attenuator conditions based on real-time intensity evaluation, effectively reproducing operator-level decision-making. A machine-learning-based machine vision monitoring (ML-MVM) system enables real-time verification of cartridge mounting integrity and sample positional tolerance, completing the automation workflow. The integrated platform supports autonomous, sequential measurement of up to 2,000 samples per day while maintaining consistent data quality across conventional transmission SAXS (Tr-SAXS), heating Tr-SAXS, and grazing-incidence SAXS (GI-SAXS) experiments.
