I have participated in a couple of failed attempts to automate amateur-type spectrographs. I have a scheme for having MaxIm flip cameras. However the big barrier is identifying the desired target star in the tiny acquisition camera field. There were other problems like a fiber that floats around in the acquisition field and needs to be "detected" to know where to put the star, a port selector that has flexure and needs to have a model to know where each port points, etc. I've heard that Shelyak is developing a new spectrograph that can be automated. We can stay tuned.