Flying Probe Automation: Build Your Own Hardware Lab Assistant

Hardware hacking often hits a bottleneck when it comes to the tedious, high-precision task of probing individual pins on a target board. Manually navigating a microscope and a probe is not only time-consuming but prone to human error. Enter AutoProber, a sophisticated flying probe automation stack designed to bridge the gap between raw target discovery and precise, agent-driven pin probing. By integrating CNC motion, microscope mapping, and rigorous safety monitoring, this project allows hardware enthusiasts to automate the most repetitive aspects of their workflow.

At its core, AutoProber transforms a standard 3018-style CNC machine into an intelligent, agent-controlled laboratory assistant. The workflow is designed to be intuitive: you ingest your project, connect your hardware, and let the agent handle the heavy lifting. The system performs homing and calibration, attaches the custom probe and microscope header, and begins scanning the target. As it moves across the plate, it captures individual frames, stitches them together, and identifies pads, pins, and chips. These identified features are then presented on a web dashboard for your manual approval, ensuring that no probe motion occurs without human oversight.

Safety is the primary design constraint for any system that moves physical hardware. Unlike standard web applications, AutoProber treats machine control with the gravity it deserves. The safety model relies on an independent endstop monitored via an oscilloscope on Channel 4. If the system detects an ambiguous voltage, a CNC alarm, or a limit pin trigger, it enters an immediate stop state. Crucially, there is no automatic recovery motion; the operator must manually clear the condition, preventing the machine from causing damage to the target or the probe.

To get started with your own setup, you will need a few key components:

• A GRBL-compatible CNC controller for precise movement.
• A USB microscope for high-resolution target mapping.
• A Siglent oscilloscope (or similar) for real-time safety monitoring.
• A 3D-printed custom toolhead to house your probe and optics.

The software stack is equally robust, utilizing a Flask-based dashboard for operator control and Python scripts for the underlying logic. You can find the full Hardware Bill of Materials in the project documentation to ensure your lab is properly equipped. Once the hardware is assembled, the configuration process involves setting up your environment variables and calibrating the microscope-to-pogo offset. This calibration is vital, as it ensures the agent knows exactly where the probe tip is relative to the microscope’s field of view.

For those looking to dive deeper into the architecture, the repository provides comprehensive documentation on Automated Hardware Testing and safety protocols. Whether you are mapping complex PCBs or performing repetitive signal analysis, AutoProber offers a scalable, source-available framework to accelerate your research. If you are ready to take your hardware hacking to the next level, clone the repository, review the safety docs, and start building your own automated probe station today.