Figure 7. A partially automated system for the discovery of functional composites made from sustainable stocks.

(A) Researchers define the goals of experimentation and interact with the physical system through hydrogel mixing and routine maintenance.

(B) The digital system conducts exploration of gathered data in order to determine potential relationships between composite composition and properties and to select experiments that will further its knowledge of such relationships. The selected experiments inform what hydrogels are mixed in the human system. The digital system interacts with the physical system to monitor experiments, calibrate the printing system, and detect failures.

(C) The physical system works to fabricate test geometries and conduct mechanical tests, which then feed data back to the digital system.