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NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Preliminary Development of Multi-Vehicle (m:N) Operations with NASA Langley’s Remote Vehicle Operations Center

To achieve the vision of Advanced Air Mobility (AAM), a transition from localized operations of aircraft to remote operations is being pursued across many use cases. This transition will allow fewer human operators to manage more increasingly autonomous aircraft (i.e., m operators managing N vehicles, or m:N). To study this operational concept, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Langley Research Center (LaRC) has developed a prototype remote vehicle operations center and ground control station (GCS) software to conduct research with simulated and real flight operations. To date, flight operations at LaRC have been limited to one vehicle per operator. However, the current paper describes initial development and considerations for enabling m:N flight operations at LaRC. Further, the research described in this paper provides the foundation for a concept of operations (ConOps) that will be developed to support remote operators managing multiple increasingly autonomous vehicles, with the goal of exploring human-autonomy teaming (HAT) concepts that enable more advanced m:N operations. Two key enablers have been identified to facilitate successful m:N operations: GCS software updates for multi-vehicle management and procedural updates for vehicle handoffs during off-nominal events. Additionally, specific modifications were identified across five key areas: technology and software, team structure, inter-team communication, contingency plans, and operator decision flows. Next steps in forming the LaRC m:N ConOps will include working with subject-matter experts to identify off-nominal scenarios, implementing the recommended GCS functionality for m:N operations, and performing integration testing of facility capabilities and new operational procedures. Although the future m:N ConOps will be tailored to the NASA LaRC remote operations facility and flight range, it is intended to be a transparent, accessible, and reality-based exemplar for external organizations seeking to create or evaluate their own m:N operational concepts.

m:N↗
NASA NTRS2006

Supportability Issues and Approaches for Exploration Missions

Maintaining and repairing spacecraft systems hardware to achieve required levels of operational availability during long-duration exploration missions will be challenged by limited resupply opportunities, constraints on the mass and volume available for spares and other maintenance-related provisions, and extended communications times. These factors will force the adoption of new approaches to the integrated logistics support of spacecraft systems hardware. For missions beyond the Moon, all spares, equipment, and supplies must either be prepositioned prior to departure from Earth of human crews or carried with the crews. The mass and volume of spares must be minimized by enabling repair at the lowest hardware levels, imposing commonality and standardization across all mission elements at all hardware levels, and providing the capability to fabricate structural and mechanical spares as required. Long round-trip communications times will require increasing levels of autonomy by the crews for most operations including spacecraft maintenance. Effective implementation of these approaches will only be possible when their need is recognized at the earliest stages of the program, when they are incorporated in operational concepts and programmatic requirements, and when diligence is applied in enforcing these requirements throughout system design in an integrated way across all contractors and suppliers. These approaches will be essential for the success of missions to Mars. Although limited duration lunar missions may be successfully accomplished with more traditional approaches to supportability, those missions will offer an opportunity to refine these concepts, associated technologies, and programmatic implementation methodologies so that they can be most effectively applied to later missions.

Watson, J. K.↗
NASA NTRS2026

Multi-Agent Swarm State of the Art Report

The Next-Generation Multi-Agent Swarm (NGS) Study conducted by NASA’s Ames Research Center for NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) will develop a comprehensive understanding of emerging multi-agent swarm capabilities. The study aims to identify existing swarm capabilities and asses their potential for persistent lunar space situational awareness, surface monitoring, and distributed autonomy demonstrations. A key objective is to inform the design of a next-generation multi-agent swarm that can perform autonomous distributed remote sensing, position, navigation, and timing (PNT) services, automated deployment that leverages autonomy, edge computing, and interoperable networking to enable cooperative operations without the need for immediate human operation. This study will address specific shortfalls identified by STMD, including intelligent multi-agent constellations, autonomy, edge computation, position, navigation, and timing for small spacecraft, small spacecraft propulsion, and space situational awareness (1625, 1438, 1433, 1557, 1431, 1430, 1589). The NASA Ames Mission Design Center (MDC) will provide subject matter expertise to support systems engineering trades, while experts in autonomy and spacecraft swarms in NASA’s Intelligent Systems Division will lead the study and focus on identifying emerging next-generation swarm capabilities. The study objectives include: capturing the current state-of-the-art for multi-agent swarm capabilities, evaluating technologies and creating technology roadmaps, and developing at least one new technology demonstration mission concept. This initial NGS study report surveys the current state of the art in technology areas relevant for the next-generation multi-agent swarm design. Our primary focus is on surveying relevant deployed space systems1, supplemented with selective analysis of relevant proposed missions and technology developments that have yet to fly.

agent↗
NASA NTRS2021

Autonomy for Deep Space Communications and Navigation

In more than 50 years of deep space exploration, the number and complexity of the world’s space missions have continued to increase. This has placed increasing demands on deep space communication and navigation. However, these demands have been met in spite of an essentially level overall budget. One of the reasons for this this has been the continual application of autonomy in various forms. The NASA Deep Space Network’s implementation of “Fol-low the Sun Operations” is a recent example – but certainly not the only one. During this same period, the end-to-end information system has been increasingly automated through the application of packet telemetry and virtual channels. Fully autonomous spacecraft navigation has been demonstrated, and more limited autonomy has been applied to the operational navigation process. This paper will show how autonomy and automation capabilities have been infused into operational deep space mission communication and navigation in both flight and ground systems as appropriate. It will further discuss ongoing work aimed at increasing the level of autonomy in the future, leverag-ing recent research and application of autonomy in everyday life.

Chang, Susan↗
NASA NTRS1992

Supervisory telerobotics testbed for unstructured environments

A telerobotics testbed for performing tasks such as assembly and repair of spacecraft in unstructured environments is described. This fully operational multiarm system can operate in teleoperated or supervisory control modes, as well as mixed shared-control modes, thus enabling operations in totally to partially unstructured environments. Various sources of uncertainty are identified and approaches to minimize their effects are presented. In the teleoperated mode, the system uses two force-reflecting hand controllers to operate two manipulator arms. A third arm is utilized to position four cameras to view the scene. In the supervisory mode, the system can be operated from three different levels: task, process, and servo levels, providing different levels of autonomy and performance. Various tools are provided so that an operator can perform tasks even when objects are partially occluded or their positions are not known a priori.

Hayati, S.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Achieving Resilient In-Flight Performance for Advanced Air Mobility through Simplified Vehicle Operations

A research and development (R&D) approach is proposed for developing and validating concepts and technologies to achieve vehicle autonomy goals of Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) through Simplified Vehicle Operations (SVO). The approach applies resilience-engineering and human-automation teaming (HAT) principles to a framework for defining vehicle-based functions for the management of missions and flight trajectories, focusing initially on the en route flight domain. To achieve the SVO goal of reducing pilot training requirements and thereby increasing the pilot pool for AAM, while at the same time promoting ever-safer operations, a framework for identifying essential functions is proposed. In this framework, functions are first categorized by high-level functional purpose (mission management, flightpath management, tactical operations, and vehicle control) and then subcategorized by attributes of resilient-performing systems (abilities to monitor, respond, learn, and anticipate). The categorization by functional purpose provides structure within which HAT designs can be holistically explored and total levels of human vs. automation responsibility can be varied. The subcategorization by resilient-system attributes provides a mechanism for capturing safety-critical functions that may not be codified in current operational procedures and training curricula, particularly those where humans proactively enhance safety in currently undocumented ways. An R&D approach consisting of seven strategies is proposed in which automation engineering and human-factors communities can collaborate in the research, development, and design of an SVO roadmap to enable the ambitious objectives of AAM.

AAM↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Implementing Artificial Thinking Autonomy with Model-Based System Engineering

Complex autonomous systems capable of successfully operating independently under ‘known unknowns’ and harsh conditions require paradigm innovation in modern development strategies. In the field of autonomy, developing a system-of-systems which can ostensibly think for itself in the face of ‘unknown unknowns’ is still a field of ongoing research. Maturing the systems architecting and modeling methodologies for developing henceforth named Thinking Autonomous Systems, which are verified with digital mission simulation, can potentially usher in the next generation of artificial intelligence for space exploration. The concept presented in this paper incorporates multiple Model-Based Systems Engineering and simulation methodologies combined as a new paradigm to design a novel, biomimetic thinking autonomy strategy. Anachronistic concepts from classical Kantian philosophy will be leveraged to inspire architectural designs that could be used for complex distributed systems in deep space. To accomplish this, digital transformation of a document-based implementation plan for Thinking Autonomous Systems, generated by experienced NASA software engineers, is implemented for NASA’s Platform for Autonomous Systems by creating descriptive and executable software models in SysML to prototype real-time operating capabilities. This conceptual implementation has been developed by incorporating model-based digital simulations to theorize how a cyberphysical thinking system would achieve specific strategies without crew reliance, while simultaneously being resilient to all operating conditions and remaining functional when devoid of ground communication. Additionally, ensuring that an autonomous system framework is an ethical Artificial Intelligence requires careful consideration of system behavior and accountability, human factors for teaming with a thinking autonomous system, and comparison to other modern approaches used for implementing true autonomy. This paper presents the first steps in formalizing the metacognition required for instantiating a truly Thinking Autonomous System; the approach described symphonizes autonomy characteristics from classical philosophical into a unified software architecture describing human thought. In the future, the foundational models described in this paper can be further leveraged to help advance research into thinking autonomy requirements for future deep space missions as well as for current near-term applications, i.e., living aboard crewed spacecraft like a NASA Gateway cislunar habitat.

Artificial Thought↗
NASA NTRS2020

Demonstrating Assurance of Model-Based Fault Diagnosis Systems on an Operational Mission

Developers of robotic scientific and commercial spacecraft are trending towards use of onboard autonomous capabilities for responding quickly to dynamic environments and rapidly changing situations. These capabilities need to know the state of the spacecraft’s health. Model-based fault diagnosis (MBFD) is an approach to estimating health by continuously verifying accurate behavior and diagnosing off-nominal behavior. Proper functioning of MBFD depends on 1) the quality of the diagnostic system model that is analyzed and compared to commands and onboard measurements to estimate a system’s health state, and 2) the correct functionality of the diagnosis engine interrogating the model and comparing its analyses to observed system behavior. Our goal is to develop Verification and Validation (V&V) techniques for MBFD to provide future missions sufficient confidence in its functionality and performance to deploy it on the systems they develop. Our work has been focused on infusing the techniques we developed earlier to an operational mission. First, we are constructing diagnostic models of a spacecraft attitude control system and updating our diagnostic engine so they can be demonstrated aboard the Arcsecond Space Telescope Enabling Research in Astrophysics (ASTERIA) mission, an operational spacecraft for which experiments in autonomy are being planned and executed, using the V&V techniques we have previously developed to assure they are both correct and complete. Since it is nearing the end of its life, ASTERIA provides a unique opportunity to demonstrate MBFD since the monitored components are expected to fail. Our demonstration will give system developers additional confidence to make timely, informed MBFD deployment decisions. Second, we will be completing performance assessments of the diagnostic engine/diagnostic model ensemble both on the flight system and ground-based testbeds to gain confidence in MBFD’s ability to run successfully in a spacecraft’s resource-constrained environment without adversely affecting other on-board activities. Finally, we are capturing our experience in preparing this demonstration in a set of checklists and guidance documents. Current practice includes high-level institutional guidance documents and standards, but at a high level of abstraction that does not necessarily address specific MBFD concerns. The purpose of the new checklists is to provide future mission developers clear, unambiguous, procedure-oriented guidance on assuring MBFD. This paper describes our work in these areas. For the first area, we describe the diagnostic models and updated diagnostic engine that will be used for the on-board demonstration. We describe how the V&V techniques we developed earlier are used to assure model and engine correctness and completeness. For the second area, we identify the performance measurement and assessment techniques used to characterize the diagnostic engine and diagnostic models, and discuss the effect of measured performance on overall mission operation. Finally, we present the checklist and guidance documents and describe how they meet the goals of providing system developers with clear, unambiguous, procedure-oriented guidance on MBFD assurance. We show how the techniques we have developed map into those artifacts.

Nikora, Allen↗
NASA NTRS2016

Workshop on Assurance for Autonomous Systems for Aviation

This report describes the workshop on Assurance for Autonomous Systems for Aviation that was held in January 2016 in conjunction with the SciTech 2016 conference held in San Diego, CA. The workshop explored issues related to assurance for autonomous systems and also the idea of trust in these systems. Specifically, we focused on discussing current practices for assurance of autonomy, identifying barriers specific to autonomy as related to assurance as well as operational scenarios demonstrating the need to address the barriers. Furthermore, attention was given to identifying verification techniques that may be applicable to autonomy, as well as discussing new research directions needed to address barriers, thereby involving potential shifts in current practices.

assurance↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

A Remote, Human-in-the-Loop Evaluation of a Multiple-Drone Delivery Operation

Over time, advances in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) have enabled a shift in the operational paradigm from one operator managing one aircraft to that of multiple operators working together to manage multiple aircraft. This shift has highlighted the need for effective human-autonomy teaming methods to maintain manageable workload levels for operators as well as high standards of system performance and safety. This paper presents a study aimed at evaluating whether automation can help operators manage workload during small UAS (sUAS) package delivery scenarios featuring contingency situations. These contingency situations, resulting from unplanned UAS Volume Reservations (UVRs), required flight path reroutes for multiple aircraft simultaneously. The study manipulated the number of aircraft affected by the UVRs and the level of automation support. The presence of terrain conflicts was also controlled within each scenario. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, subjects were not able to gain direct access to the Ground Control System (GCS). Therefore, the study was conducted using a subject-surrogate paradigm that required subjects to relay commands through a verbal protocol from remote locations outside of the lab to a researcher surrogate who had direct control of the GCS interfaces at the lab location. Results show that the automated support condition was associated with faster reroute response times, more efficient reroute maneuvers, and significantly lower levels of perceived workload than the manual reroute condition. However, the automation support level did not significantly impact pilots’ ability to avoid the UVR successfully; pilots were overwhelmingly capable of avoiding the UVR in all conditions. The presence of terrain conflicts primarily impacted pilot performance by leading to multiple uploads per vehicle, which was not typically required when pilots only needed to maneuver laterally. Although subjects did not have direct control over the GCS, subjective ratings indicate that the displays under test provided them with sufficient information to manage their aircraft and promptly respond to the unplanned UVRs. Overall, the objective and subjective data strongly suggest that the verbal protocol and subject-surrogate paradigm were effective methods for collecting data remotely amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

multi-UAS↗
NASA NTRS1996

Low-Cost Mission Operations

This paper discusses the transition between traditional planetary missions (requiring constant operational control and limited in size only by booster capability) and the cheaper missions of the New Millennium spacecraft, which will be smaller and will have a great deal of autonomy.

New Millennium spacecraft operations spacecraft au↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

An Overview of Advanced Air Mobility Research at NASA

Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) will enable new types of aircraft to operate more cleanly, efficiently, and quietly, complemented by higher levels of autonomy and automation, and supported by air traffic management systems and infrastructure. The operations that these aircraft and systems are intended to conduct are designed to support missions that cover a varied set of use cases. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has been helping to lead the way in its AAM research through a broad portfolio of efforts that leverages multiple internal activities and external collaborations with industry and government. As the AAM concept has continued to advance, it has also become clear that there are very likely great benefits in its application to disaster response and the challenges posed by such complex events. In this application, NASA is leveraging its foundational work performed in partnership with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) on integrated unmanned and manned aircraft operations in disaster response situations. The joint NASA and JAXA work, along with the ongoing AAM efforts, have contributed to the formulation of a new project that will expand the scope of technology integration with an initial focus on wildland firefighting.

advanced air mobility↗
NASA NTRS1986

Operations and support for the next-generation space transportation system

The role of operations and support in the design of future space transportation systems (STSs) is studied. There is a need to reduce launch and operation costs for future space systems. Methods for reducing the cost of ground operations and supports for a STS are described. Technological advances such as expert systems, robotics, and sensors, and reduction in management of operations are discussed. Changes in the management of flight operations and control, from a manpower intensive monitoring to a strong vehicle autonomy, are examined. The development of equipment and procedures to improve space operations and reduce costs is analyzed. The use of a clean sheet approach for building a STS is proposed.

Sawaya, G. J.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Overview of the NASA automation and robotics research program

NASA studies over the last eight years have identified five opportunities for the application of automation and robotics technology: (1) satellite servicing; (2) system monitoring, control, sequencing and diagnosis; (3) space manufacturing; (4) space structure assembly; and (5) planetary rovers. The development of these opportunities entails two technology R&D thrusts: telerobotics and system autonomy; both encompass such concerns as operator interface, task planning and reasoning, control execution, sensing, and systems integration.

Holcomb, Lee↗
NASA NTRS1989

A prototype autonomous agent for crew and equipment retrieval in space

The ground-based demonstration of Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA) Retriever, a voice-supervised, intelligent, free-flying robot, is designed to evaluate the capability to retrieve objects (astronauts, equipment, and tools) which have accidentally separated from the Space Station. The EVA Retriever software is required to autonomously plan and execute a target rendezvous, grapple, and return to base while avoiding stationary and moving obstacles. The software architecture incorporates a hierarchical decomposition of the control system that is horizontally partitioned into five major functional subsystems: perception, world model, reasoning, sensing, and acting. The design provides for supervised autonomy as the primary mode of operation with teleoperation as the backup mode. It is intended to be an evolutionary system improving in capability over time and as it earns crew trust through reliable operation.

Erickson, J. D.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Air Force construction automation/robotics

The Air Force has several missions which generate unique requirements that are being met through the development of construction robotic technology. One especially important mission will be the conduct of Department of Defense (DOD) space activities. Space operations and other missions place construction/repair equipment operators in dangerous environments and potentially harmful situations. Additionally, force reductions require that human resources be leveraged to the maximum extent possible, and more stringent construction repair requirements push for increased automation. To solve these problems, the U.S. Air Force is undertaking a research and development effort at Tyndall AFB, FL, to develop robotic construction/repair equipment. This development effort involves the following technologies: teleoperation, telerobotics, construction operations (excavation, grading, leveling, tool change), robotic vehicle communications, vehicle navigation, mission/vehicle task control architecture, and associated computing environment. The ultimate goal is the fielding of a robotic repair capability operating at the level of supervised autonomy. This paper will discuss current and planned efforts in space construction/repair, explosive ordnance disposal, hazardous waste cleanup, and fire fighting.

Nease, A. D.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Technology test results from an intelligent, free-flying robot for crew and equipment retrieval in space

The ground-based demonstrations of Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA) Retriever, a voice-supervised, intelligent, free-flying robot, are designed to evaluate the capability to retrieve objects (astronauts, equipment, and tools) which have accidentally separated from the Space Station. The EVA Retriever software is required to autonomously plan and execute a target rendezvous, grapple, and return to base while avoiding stationary and moving obstacles with subsequent object handover. The software architecture incorporates a heirarchical decomposition of the control system that is horizontally partitioned into five major functional subsystems: sensing, perception, world model, reasoning, and acting. The design provides for supervised autonomy as the primary mode of operation. It is intended to be an evolutionary system improving in capability over time and as it earns crew trust through reliable and safe operation. This paper gives an overview of the hardware, a focus on software, and a summary of results achieved recently from both computer simulations and air bearing floor demonstrations. Limitations of the technology used are evaluated. Plans for the next phase, during which moving targets and obstacles drive realtime behavior requirements, are discussed.

Erickson, J.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Air Force construction automation/robotics

The Air Force has several unique requirements that are being met through the development of construction robotic technology. The missions associated with these requirements place construction/repair equipment operators in potentially harmful situations. Additionally, force reductions require that human resources be leveraged to the maximum extent possible and that more stringent construction repair requirements push for increased automation. To solve these problems, the U.S. Air Force is undertaking a research and development effort at Tyndall AFB, FL to develop robotic teleoperation, telerobotics, robotic vehicle communications, automated damage assessment, vehicle navigation, mission/vehicle task control architecture, and associated computing environment. The ultimate goal is the fielding of robotic repair capability operating at the level of supervised autonomy. The authors of this paper will discuss current and planned efforts in construction/repair, explosive ordnance disposal, hazardous waste cleanup, fire fighting, and space construction.

Nease, AL↗