# Qumus: Realization of An Embodied AI Quantum Material Experimentalist

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.18407 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.18407/

## Key facts

- Cited by 3 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 17 of its 57 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 18 May 2026.

## Builds on (most cited first, 17 of 17)

- [Attention Is All You Need](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1706.03762/) (2017)
- [Language Models are Few-Shot Learners](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2005.14165/) (2020)
- [Chain-of-Thought Prompting Elicits Reasoning in Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2201.11903/) (2022)
- [ReAct: Synergizing Reasoning and Acting in Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2210.03629/) (2022)
- [Segment Anything](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.02643/) (2023)
- [Mask R-CNN](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1703.06870/) (2017)
- [You Only Look Once: Unified, Real-Time Object Detection](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1506.02640/) (2015)
- [Toolformer: Language Models Can Teach Themselves to Use Tools](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2302.04761/) (2023)
- [Generative Agents: Interactive Simulacra of Human Behavior](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.03442/) (2023)
- [Sparks of Artificial General Intelligence: Early experiments with GPT-4](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.12712/) (2023)
- [ChemCrow: Augmenting large-language models with chemistry tools](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.05376/) (2023)
- [A Survey of Self-Evolving Agents: What, When, How, and Where to Evolve on the Path to Artificial Super Intelligence](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.21046/) (2025)
- [Embodied LLM Agents Learn to Cooperate in Organized Teams](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.12482/) (2024)
- [CRISPR-GPT for Agentic Automation of Gene-editing Experiments](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.18021/) (2024)
- [SciSciGPT: Advancing Human-AI Collaboration in the Science of Science](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.05559/) (2025)
- [LabOS: The AI-XR Co-Scientist That Sees and Works With Humans](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.14861/) (2025)
- [MaskTerial: A Foundation Model for Automated 2D Material Flake Detection](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2412.09333/) (2024)

## Built on by (most cited first, 3 of 3)

- [Workflow Closure Is Not Scientific Closure in Auto-Research Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.26200/) (2026)
- [Progress and Prospect of AI in ARPES Workflow](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2610.10140/) (2026)
- [Framework for an AI-Ready ARPES Community Database](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2610.15236/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

While modern Large Language Models (LLMs) and agentic artificial intelligence (AI) have demonstrated transformative capabilities in digital domains, the realization of embodied AI capable of real-world scientific discovery remains a difficult frontier. The advancements are hindered by the inherent complexity of integrating high-level reasoning, multimodal information processing and real-time physical execution. Here we introduce Qumus, the first AI quantum materials experimentalist. Physically embodied within a robotic mini-laboratory, Qumus is an intelligent, multimodal, and multi-agent system designed for the creation and nano-processing of atomically thin two-dimensional (2D) materials and stacked van der Waals (vdW) structures. Qumus autonomously navigates the full scientific cycle, from hypothesis generation and protocol planning to multi-step experimental execution, result analysis and reporting, acting as an experimentalist. Markedly, the system has achieved, for the first time, the AI-creation of graphene, as well as the first AI-fabrication of complex nanodevices including atomically thin field-effect transistors via vdW stacking. Qumus excels at these tasks by demonstrating autonomous error correction and closed-loop experimentation. Our results establish a generalizable framework for self-improving embodied AI systems that learn directly from the quantum world, opening a pathway toward accelerated discovery in quantum materials, electronics and beyond.