A Robust Compositional Architecture for Autonomous Systems

Guillaume Brat, Ewen Denney, Kimberley Farrell, Dimitra Giannakopoulou, Ari Jonsson, Jeremy Frank, Mark Boddy, Todd Carpenter, Tara Estlin, and Mihail Pivtoraiko. A Robust Compositional Architecture for Autonomous Systems. In Proceedings of the IEEE Aerospace Conference, pp. 8pp., 2006.

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Abstract

Space exploration applications can benefit greatly from autonomous systems. Great distances, limited communications and high costs make direct operations impossible while mandating operations reliability and efficiency beyond what traditional commanding can provide. Autonomous systems can improve reliability and enhance spacecraft capability significantly. However, there is reluctance to utilizing autonomous systems. In part, this is due to general hesitation about new technologies, but a more tangible concern is the reliability and predictability of autonomous software. In this paper, we describe ongoing work aimed at increasing robustness and predictability of autonomous software, with the ultimate goal of building trust in such systems. The work combines state-of-the-art technologies and capabilities in autonomous systems with advanced validation and synthesis techniques. The focus of this paper is on the autonomous system architecture that has been defined, and on how it enables the application of validation techniques for resulting autonomous systems.

BibTeX

@INPROCEEDINGS{brat_etal_aerospace06,
  author = {Guillaume Brat and Ewen Denney and Kimberley Farrell and Dimitra
	Giannakopoulou and Ari Jonsson and Jeremy Frank and Mark Boddy and
	Todd Carpenter and Tara Estlin and Mihail Pivtoraiko},
  title = {A Robust Compositional Architecture for Autonomous Systems},
  booktitle = {Proceedings of the IEEE Aerospace Conference},
  year = {2006},
  pages = {8pp.},
  abstract = {Space exploration applications can benefit greatly from
                  autonomous systems. Great distances, limited
                  communications and high costs make direct operations
                  impossible while mandating operations reliability
                  and efficiency beyond what traditional commanding
                  can provide. Autonomous systems can improve
                  reliability and enhance spacecraft capability
                  significantly. However, there is reluctance to
                  utilizing autonomous systems. In part, this is due
                  to general hesitation about new technologies, but a
                  more tangible concern is the reliability and
                  predictability of autonomous software.  
In this
                  paper, we describe ongoing work aimed at increasing
                  robustness and predictability of autonomous
                  software, with the ultimate goal of building trust
                  in such systems. The work combines state-of-the-art
                  technologies and capabilities in autonomous systems
                  with advanced validation and synthesis
                  techniques. The focus of this paper is on the
                  autonomous system architecture that has been
                  defined, and on how it enables the application of
                  validation techniques for resulting autonomous
                  systems.},
  bib2html_pubtype = {Refereed Conference Papers},
  bib2html_rescat = {Other},
  doi = {10.1109/AERO.2006.1655802}
}