NASA is currently approaching autonomic computing (AC) with great interest, recognizing in AC a bridge towards ”the new age of space
exploration” whereby spacecraft should be independent, autonomous, and smart.
NASA’s New Millennium Project emphasizes space-exploration
missions where AC software controls spacecraft entirely. Both the
Autonomous Nano-Technology Swarm (ANTS) concept
mission and the Deep Space One mission involve
the next generation of AC-based unmanned spacecraft systems. In such systems, AC software turns spacecraft into autonomic systems, i.e.,
capable of planning and executing many activities onboard to meet the requirements of changing objectives and harsh external conditions.
NASA is engaging in AC research to find a solution to large-scale automation for deep space exploration. However, automation implies
sophisticated software, which requires new development approaches and new verification techniques.
|
The main objective of this research is to develop with ASSL prototype models for space-exploration systems that are under development
(or are currently employed) at NASA or ESA.
We use ASSL to specify different space-exploration systems (e.g., NASA’s Voyager, NASA’s ANTS, ESA’s Herschel,
etc.) in a stepwise manner (feature by feature) and generate a series of prototypes. Further, these prototypes are evaluated in simulated
conditions. A possible way to simulate conditions is to model those with ASSL as events that trigger special autonomic policies in the
generated prototypes. It is possible to evaluate the behavior of the generated prototypes through special log records produced by an
ASSL-generated application. These log records inform about important state-transition operations and can be used to trace the autonomic
behavior of the system in question. The stepwise approach to prototyping allows for benchmark experiments where might be compared
autonomic features implemented by different prototypes or by actual missions.
|