Abstract
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)’s Self-driven Experiments for Science / Interconnected Science
Ecosystem (INTERSECT) architecture project, titled “An Open Federated Architecture for the Laboratory
of the Future”, creates an open federated hardware/software architecture for the laboratory of the future
using a novel system of systems (SoS) and microservice architecture approach, connecting scientific
instruments, robot-controlled laboratories and edge/center computing/data resources to enable autonomous
experiments, “self-driving” laboratories, smart manufacturing, and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven
design, discovery and evaluation.
The architecture project is divided into three focus areas: design patterns; SoS architecture; and
microservices architecture. The design patterns area focuses on describing science use cases as design
patterns that identify and abstract the involved hardware/software components and their interactions in
terms of control, work and data flow. The SoS architecture area focuses on an open architecture
specification for the federated ecosystem that clarifies terms, architectural elements, the interactions
between them and compliance. The microservices architecture describes blueprints for loosely coupled
microservices, standardized interfaces, and multi-programming language support.
This document is the SoS Architecture specification only, and captures the system of systems architecture
design for the INTERSECT Initiative and its components. It is intended to provide a deep analysis and
specification of how the INTERSECT platform will be designed, and to link the scientific needs identified
across disciplines with the technical needs involved in the support, development, and evolution of a science
ecosystem.
PLEASE NOTE: This is a working document and reflects current discussions and design activity among
the authors. There may be inconsistencies within the document as different parts evolve at a different pace.
We invite comments and thoughts from the public on this and following working drafts. The first finished
version of this document is scheduled for release in September 2023.
