Laboratory automation refers to the integration of scientific instrumentation, software, and processes to streamline laboratory workflows and to enhance efficiency, reproducibility, and throughput while minimizing human error . Laboratory autonomy-an advancement beyond basic automation-entails integrating artificial intelligence (AI) and self-driven systems to conduct experiments in a closed-loop manner. In such systems, data are continuously collected, analyzed, and used to plan subsequent experiments, all with minimal (if any) human intervention . Fields such as drug discovery , materials science , and synthetic biology -which routinely require the rapid screening and testing of hundreds to thousands of samples-are among the early adopters harnessing this paradigm shift.