Opportunities for Model-Based Learning Systems in the Human Exploration of Space

Abstract

The international space program is at a crossroads: Advanced technology in automation and robotics is motivating moving beyond low Earth orbit for extended lunar stays and multiple-year missions to Mars. This presentation relates the various themes of ITS to new plans for the human-robot exploration of space. Opportunities include: adapting student modeling to the problem of instructing robotic systems in cooperative assembly and maintenance tasks, providing astronauts with refresher training and tutorials for new engineering procedures, web-based systems for representing and sharing scientific discoveries, multiagent systems using natural language for life support and surface exploration, and virtual reality for design and training of human-robotic systems. I will illustrate these ideas with current projects carried out by NASA and the Mars Society. Throughout I emphasize how the scientific understanding of the differences between present technology and people is essential for both exploiting and improving computational methods.