The Test Bed: Toward a Network of Programmable Cloud
Laboratories (PCL Test Bed) program seeks to establish and facilitate the
operation of distributed autonomous laboratory facilities. These laboratories
will combine technological and human capacity to enable integration, testing,
evaluation, validation, and translation of cutting-edge technology solutions in
automated science and engineering. The PCL Test Bed will consist of a set of
Programmable Cloud Laboratory Nodes (PCL Nodes) that can be remotely accessed
to run custom workflows specified and programmed by users, that are linked
together via computational networking, shared science questions, and data and
artificial intelligence (AI) standards.

The PCL Test Bed will facilitate access to advanced
scientific equipment, accelerate translation and scaling of basic research into
industry applications, enhance reproducibility and the exchange of experimental
data, and assist in training the next generation of scientists and engineers in
state-of-the art methodologies. It will help develop community norms, best
practices, and formal standards for automated laboratory procedures, workflows,
and instrument testing and validation. It will also advance consistent
practices for the collection, sharing, and use of metadata and training data
and the use and exploitation of AI methods. This program will also support the
development of automated laboratory methods, including self-driving autonomous
experiment workflows.

Proposals must have a set of well-defined science drivers
poised to derive significant benefit from targeted use of the PCL Test Bed
capabilities, including but not limited to synthesis, optimization, and/or
characterization experiments, in specific sub-disciplines within materials
science, biotechnology, chemistry or other areas of science and
engineering. 

Only existing shared instrument facilities, or labs of
similar capabilities, may submit a proposal to this program.

Budget: A PCL Node is an independent site at one physical
location. Each PCL Node will be funded up to $5M/year for 4 years, for a total
budget not to exceed $20M per PCL Node. The requested amount should be well
justified based on the specific science drivers, experimental capabilities, and
a broad user community that will be supported and, in general, on the level of
expertise and resources that will be made available by the PCL Node to proposed
groups of users.