Automated vicarious calibration is a new direction for optical satellite radiometric calibration. By deploying automated instruments in test site, long-term surface reflectance and atmospheric pararmeters are measured which allow payloads to be calibrated with high frequencies and high precisions. Automated vicarious calibration methods and technologies are analysed in details. Aiming at calibration requirements, the scheme and key knowledges of new instruments are presented. The development prospects of automated vicarious calibration are also discussed.