Antonio Ciarlo, Martin Selin, Giuseppe Pesce, Lars Bengtsson, Joan Camunas-Soler, Vinoth Sundar Rajan, Fredrik Westerlund, L. Marcus Wilhelmsson, Isabel Pastor, Felix Ritort, Steven B. Smith, Carlos Bustamante, Giovanni Volpe
Date: 23 August 2026
Time: 4:55 PM – 5:10 PM PDT
Place: Conv. Ctr. Room 5B
We present SmartTrap, a fully autonomous optical tweezers platform that automates optical trapping experiments. SmartTrap uses deep learning–based 3D particle tracking, adaptive feedback control, and automated microfluidics to perform complete force spectroscopy and manipulation protocols without human intervention. Once initialized, the system operates continuously, autonomously handling trapping, molecular attachment, force application, data acquisition, and bead replacement. We demonstrate its capabilities using automated λ-DNA pulling experiments, which enable high-throughput force-extension and kinetic measurements. These capabilities are implemented using fully open-source control and analysis software with user-friendly interfaces, facilitating adaptation to existing optical tweezers setups and experimental workflows. SmartTrap is a flexible, general-purpose platform for automated optical trapping experiments in biomolecular, colloidal, and cellular systems.