Automation of composite laminates manufacturing is instrumental in meeting the growing demand for composites and promises to revolutionize composite-dependent industries. However, the few existing layup automation systems are prohibitively expensive and are not fully optimized for product quality. This project aims to establish a systematic framework that will assist in solving the critical challenges in automation, monitoring and control for composite laminates manufacturing. We focus on: (1) create multi-physics manufacturing process models to predict impacts of process parameters on manufacturing induced defects and final product quality, and conduct experiments to verify the models; (2) gain an understanding on the roles of quality inspection and optimal control in increasing productivity through manufacturing dynamics simulations; and (3) obtain the knowledge on how to control the physical process to ensure the product quality as a guideline for manufacturing practices.