Co‐Evolution of Humans, AI, and Robotics in Autonomous Materials Manufacturing

ABSTRACT

Materials manufacturing has entered into a new era with the rapid development of technologies. The convergence of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics technologies is transforming materials manufacturing from a traditional human‐centered practice into a human, AI, and robotics co‐evolution paradigm. Here, co‐evolution extends beyond conventional human‐in‐the‐loop supervision through reciprocal adaptation: Humans define objectives and constraints and refine them in response to new discoveries; AI translates these objectives and accumulated knowledge into testable hypotheses and experimental plans, then uses new evidence to refine its models and research strategy; and robotic platforms execute experiments and are reconfigured in response to emerging experimental requirements. Such intelligent autonomous materials manufacturing not only accelerates the discovery‐to‐production cycle but also enhances reproducibility and resource efficiency. In this perspective, we discuss the evolution of materials manufacturing, highlighting the roles of robotic platforms and AI in enabling autonomous materials manufacturing, and present a general framework for the human‐AI‐robotics collaboration and co‐evolution paradigm. We further outline the key challenges and future pathways, including effective AI‐driven design, reconfigurable robotic systems, and the critical role of automated characterization.