Satellite Control Using Rational Agent Programming

Artificial Intelligence, 2003

There is an increasing desire to use constellations of autonomous spacecraft working together to accomplish complex mission objectives. Multiple, highly autonomous, satellite systems are envisioned because they are capable of higher performance, lower cost, better fault tolerance, reconfigurability and upgradability. This paper presents an architecture and multi-agent design and simulation environment that will enable agent-based multi-satellite systems to fulfill their complex mission objectives, termed TeamAgent TM . Its application is shown for Tech-Sat21, a U.S. Air Force mission designed to explore the benefits of distributed satellite systems. Required spacecraft functions, software agents, and multi-agent organisations are described for the TechSat21 mission, as well as their implementation. Agent-based simulations of TechSat21 case studies show the autonomous operation and how TeamAgent can be used to evaluate and compare multi agent-based organisations.

Flairs, 1999

In this paper we discuss the concept of autonomy and its impact on building complex systems for space applications that require autonomy. We have developed a few metrics for quantification of autonomy in systems.

Tecnología en Marcha, 2019

Developing newer satellite missions faces increased onboard software complexity. Next generations of small satellites need to enable the infrastructure for implementation of concurrent and deterministic onboard algorithms for mission coordination and control. Multi-agent-based architectures are a new developing approach adopted in the software engineering field due to its flexibility, scalability, and adaptability to dynamic operating environments. This paper describes the design and implementation of a deterministic multi-agent system framework to develop applications for highly constrained embedded computers used in small satellite missions. As a result of the implementation of this framework the user coding effort for describing complex onboard software applications is reduced up to 50% with minimum impact on CPU load and program memory allocation. This paper also shows a set of benchmarks that demonstrate not only the feasibility of MAS-based software for small satellite missions but its value to achieve aggressive development schedules. Palabras clave Sistema multiagente; sistema embebidos; agente; tiempo real; multi-agente. Resumen El desarrollo de nuevas misiones satelitales se enfrenta a un incremento en la complejidad del software a bordo. Las próximas generaciones de satélites pequeños deben habilitar la infraestructura para la implementación de algoritmos a bordo concurrentes y deterministas para la coordinación y el control de la misión. Las arquitecturas basadas en multi agentes son un nuevo enfoque de desarrollo adoptado en el campo de la ingeniería de software debido a su flexibilidad, escalabilidad y adaptabilidad a entornos operativos dinámicos. Este artículo describe el diseño y la implementación de un framework basado en sistemas multi-agentes para desarrollar aplicaciones para computadoras embebidos con recursos altamente limitados que son utilizadas en pequeñas misiones satelitales. Como resultado de la implementación de este framework, el esfuerzo de codificación del usuario para escribir aplicaciones complejas de software a bordo se reduce hasta en un 50% con un impacto mínimo en la carga de la CPU y la asignación de la memoria del programa. Los resultados obtenidos en esta investigación demuestran no solo la viabilidad del software basado en MAS para misiones de satélites pequeños, sino también su valor para lograr planeamientos agresivos.

A complex system of spacecraft and ground tracking stations, as well as a constellation of satellites or spacecraft, has to be able to reliably withstand sudden environment changes, resource fluctuations, dynamic resource configuration, limited communication bandwidth, etc., while maintaining the consistency of the system as a whole. It is not known in advance when a change in the environment might occur or when a particular exchange will happen. A higher degree of sophistication for the communication mechanisms between different parts of the system is required. The actual behavior has to be determined while the system is performing and the course of action can be decided at the individual level. Under such circumstances, the solution will highly benefit from increased on-board and on the ground adaptability and autonomy. An evolvable architecture based on intelligent agents that communicate and cooperate with each other can offer advantages in this direction. This paper presents an architecture of an evolvable agent-based system (software and softwarehardware hybrids) as well as some plans for further implementation.

Procedia Computer Science, 2013

The growth in computer hardware performance, coupled with reduced energy requirements, has led to a rapid expansion of the resources available to software systems, driving them towards greater logical abstraction, flexibility, and complexity. This shift in focus from compacting functionality into a limited field towards developing layered, multi-state architectures in a grand field has both driven and been driven by the history of embedded processor design in the robotic spacecraft industry. The combinatorial growth of interprocess conditions is accompanied by benefits (concurrent development, situational autonomy, and evolution of goals) and drawbacks (late integration, non-deterministic interactions, and multifaceted anomalies) in achieving mission success, as illustrated by the case of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Approaches to optimizing the benefits while mitigating the drawbacks have taken the shape of the formalization of requirements, modular design practices, extensive system simulation, and spacecraft data trend analysis. The growth of hardware capability and software complexity can be expected to continue, with future directions including stackable commodity subsystems, computer-generated algorithms, runtime reconfigurable processors, and greater autonomy.

Web Intelligence and Agent Systems: An International Journal, 2010

The fundamental role of autonomous agents in managing activities of space systems has emerged some years ago with the NASA's Remote Agent Experiment. However, the possible advantages of employing multiple agents to manage activities on a single space system are largely unexplored. This paper gives a contribution in this direction by presenting the design and the experimental validation of a multiagent architecture intended to run onboard a space satellite. Each agent is associated to a subsystem of the satellite and manages its activities. Each agent is organized in three modules, or layers: a planner, a scheduler, and an executor. Taken together across the agents, these layers form a distributed planner, a distributed scheduler, and a distributed executor, respectively. With a multiagent architecture, a number of benefits, including robustness, easy reuse of agents, and the possibility for the designer to focus on a small portion of the problem at a time, can be exploited. We experimentally validated our system in the scenario provided by Palamede, a low Earth orbit satellite under development at the Department of Aerospace Engineering of the Politecnico di Milano.

Revista Tecnología en Marcha, 2020

In recent years space-science and exploration have become more accessible due to the popularization of the concept of CubeSats. CubeSats are being used as a result of their convenient size and weight requirements, allowing for target missions to be designed, developed, and launched with a significant reduction of costs compared to traditional space missions. Furthermore, the development of target missions has become more intricate, forcing a shift in the traditional notion of using a centralized control architecture to a distributed architecture. A distributed architecture tackles the problem of a possible functionality loss over the control unit. This paper describes the extension of capabilities of the Multi-Agent Systems Framework for Embedded Systems (MAES). This extension provides MAES framework with the ability to perform inter-platform communication, so now the control unit architecture can be broadened allowing agents from different platforms to interact and perform cooper...

Avionics for satellites is a market which is continuously growing in these years, especially thanks to the availability of low cost launch vectors. This cost reduction enabled many institutions (industries but also universities) to develop their own satellites. A first result of this process was the CubeSat concept: a really small satellite, built using low cost Commercial Off The Shelf components, that everybody could buy and assemble from a kit. AraMiS (acronym for Modular Architecture for Satellites in Italian) is a project that wants to go beyond the CubeSat concept and create a true modular architecture, in particular in the electronic subsystem. Our main idea is the development of distributed and intercommunicating on-board units, built with COTS components, in order to increase fault tolerance and allow a graceful performance degradation, while keeping the costs at acceptable levels. The satellite can use as many basic modules as needed to perform the tasks of the mission. Si...

1999

Distributed space systems are often cited as a means of enabling vast performance increases ranging from enhanced mission capabilities to radical reductions in operations cost. To explore this concept, Stanford University and Santa Clara University have initiated development of a simple, low cost, two-satellite mission known as Emerald. The Emerald mission has several on-orbit goals. First, it will verify an array of component-level technologies necessary for enabling highly capable and robust distributed space systems. Second, it will combine these technologies to experiment with simple closed loop relative positioning, distributed control, and autonomous operation. Third, it will validate the distributed space system concept by assessing how these capabilities improve a baseline scientific investigation involving lightning-induced atmospheric phenomena. The Emerald bus design is based on a heritage Stanford University design, a 15-kilogram, modular hexagonal vehicle relying heavil...