Aila (Artificially Intelligent Lab Assistant) developed by researchers at IIT Delhi. Courtesy: IIT
Jagran correspondent, New Delhi. Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi have achieved a major scientific achievement. They have developed such an artificial intelligence agent, which can now conduct real scientific experiments in the laboratory like humans.
Learned to operate an atomic force microscope.
This AI system named Aila (Artificially Intelligent Lab Assistant) has learned to operate the Atomic Force Microscope (AFM). This is such a complex and sensitive instrument, which studies substances at a very small level. It used to take a whole day to fine-tune the microscope's settings, but Aila does it in just seven to 10 minutes, which has made research faster. Aila can now perform experiments, run the tools, and view results.
Researchers from Denmark and Germany also collaborated
Indrajit Mandal, a PhD student of IIT Delhi, said that Aila has increased the speed of his research work manifold. He said that earlier AI was limited to just answering questions or viewing data, but now it can also do real experiments. Researchers from Denmark and Germany have also collaborated in this project.
'A step that changed the direction of science'
Pro. Anoop Krishnan and Prof. Nitya Nand Goswami said that this is not just a technical achievement, but a step changing the direction of experimental science. Earlier AI only helped in data analysis and writing, but now it can design experiments, run actual equipment, record data and even analyze it.
Also important for AI for Science Mission
The research team also acknowledged that AI poses both challenges and risks. Sometimes AI acted contrary to instructions, so there is a need for strong safety mechanisms in the future, so that any kind of accident or equipment damage can be avoided. This achievement of IIT is also considered important for India's AI for Science Mission. This technology can give a new impetus to scientific research in universities and institutes across the country. The pace of research in areas like energy, sustainable materials and advanced manufacturing is expected to increase manifold.
Also read- IIT Delhi wrote a letter to NGT, sought data for evaluation of UV disinfection system installed in STP.