Automated Advisors for Remote Science Experimentation

Abstract

This paper details flight results from the PI-in-a-Box project. The project is an attempt to understand the issues involved in building automated real-time advisory systems to improve the conduct of science in remote laboratory settings. This is an important problem as examples of these situations can be found throughout aerospace. A knowledge-based approach is used to facilitate real-time reactions to experiment data as it is collected by a competent, but not expert, operator. The system was flown on the Space Shuttle in October, 1993. The PI-in-a-Box system was able to outperform humans in a variety of science-related tasks. These tasks include data integrity assurance, data analysis, and scientific model validation.