> or many types of study, especially new ones, having such a setup is just as hard as doing the thing that may or may not require massive automation. For example, testing a new type of high acceleration engine. How would you even setup a lab to have hundreds of test beds for this? Would you need to manufacture hundreds of prototypes of the engine to even do the test? Where would you source that if the whole point is proving whether the engine works and produces more thrust. You probably just have one prototype sitting on a table. Sure when you get to the point of refining a tested and well-studied design, automation helps.

This is the point where robotics can re-arrange their own labs.