Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

A Hybrid Procedural/Deductive Executive for Autonomous Spacecraft

  • Published:
Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The New Millennium Remote Agent (NMRA) will be the first AI system to control an actual spacecraft. The spacecraft domain places a strong premium on autonomy and requires dynamic recoveries and robust concurrent execution, all in the presence of tight real-time deadlines, changing goals, scarce resource constraints, and a wide variety of possible failures. To achieve this level of execution robustness, we have integrated a procedural executive based on generic procedures with a deductive model-based executive. A procedural executive provides sophisticated control constructs such as loops, parallel activity, locks, and synchronization which are used for robust schedule execution, hierarchical task decomposition, and routine configuration management. A deductive executive provides algorithms for sophisticated state inference and optimal failure recovery planning. The integrated executive enables designers to code knowledge via a combination of procedures and declarative models, yielding a rich modeling capability suitable to the challenges of real spacecraft control. The interface between the two executives ensures both that recovery sequences are smoothly merged into high-level schedule execution and that a high degree of reactivity is retained to effectively handle additional failures during recovery.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. D.E. Bernard, G.A. Dorais, G. A.; C. Fry, E.B.G. Jr., B. Kanefsky, J. Kurien, W. Millar, N. Muscettola, P.P. Nayak, B. Pell, K. Rajan, N. Rouquette, B. Smith and B.C. Williams. “Design of the remote agent experiment for spacecraft autonomy.” In Proceedings of the IEEE Aerospace Conference. Snowmass, CO: IEEE, 1998.

    Google Scholar 

  2. R.P. Bonasso, D. Kortenkamp, D. Miller and M. Slack. “Experiences with an architecture for intelligent, reactive agents.” JETAI, Vol. 9–1, 1997.

  3. G. Brown, D. Bernard, D. and R. Rasmussen. “Attitude and articulation control for the cassini spacecraft: A fault tolerance overview.” In 14th AIAA/IEEE Digital Avionics Systems Conference, 1995.

  4. W.F. Clocksin and C.S. Mellish. Programming in Prolog. Springer-Verlag: Berlin, Germany, 1981.

    Google Scholar 

  5. K. Currie and A. Tate. “O-plan: the open planning architecture.” Art. Int., Vol. 52–1, pp. 49-86, 1991.

    Google Scholar 

  6. G. de Giacomo, Y. Lesperance and H. Levesque. “Reasoning about concurrent execution, prioritized interrupts, and exogenous actions in the situation calculus.” In Procs. of IJCAI-97, pp. 1221-1226, 1997.

  7. J. de Kleer and B.C. Williams. “Diagnosing multiple faults.” Artificial Intelligence, Vol. 32–1, pp. 97-130, 1987. Reprinted in [18].

    Google Scholar 

  8. J. de Kleer and B.C. Williams. “Diagnosis with behavioral modes.” In Proceedings of IJCAI-89, pp. 1324-1330, 1989. Reprinted in [18].

  9. T.A. Estlin, S.A. Chien and X. Wang. “An argument for a hybrid HTN/operator-based approach to planning.” In Procs. of the Fourth European Conference on Planning, 1997.

  10. I.A. Ferguson. “Touring Machines: An Architecture for Dynamic, Rational, Mobile Agents.” Ph.D. Dissertation, Computer Laboratory, University of Cambridge, 1992.

  11. R.J. Firby “Adaptive execution in complex dynamic worlds.” Ph.D. Dissertation, Yale University, 1978.

  12. M. Freed and R. Remington. “Managing decision resources in plan execution.” In Procs. of IJCAI-97, pp. 322-326, 1997.

  13. E. Gat. “ESL: A language for supporting robust plan execution in embedded autonomous agents.” In Procs. of the AAAI Fall Symposium on Plan Execution. AAAI Press, 1996.

  14. M.R. Genesereth and N.J. Nilsson. Logical Foundations of Artificial Intelligence. Morgan Kaufmann: Los Altos, CA, 1987.

    Google Scholar 

  15. M.P. Georgeff and A.L. Lansky. “A system for reasoning in dynamic domains: Fault diagnosis on the space shuttle.” Technical Note 375, Artificial Intelligence Center, SRI International, 1986.

  16. M.P. Georgeff and A.L. Lansky. “Procedural knowledge.” Technical Report 411, Artificial Intelligence Center, SRI International, 1987.

  17. M.P. Georgeff, A.L. Lansky and M.J. Schoppers. “Reasoning and planning in dynamic domains: An experiment with a mobile robot.” Technical Report 380, Artificial Intelligence Center, SRI International, 1987.

  18. W. Hamscher, L. Console, L. and J. de Kleer. Readings in Model-Based Diagnosis. San Mateo, CA: Morgan Kaufmann, 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  19. B. Hayes-Roth. “An architecture for adaptive intelligent systems.” Art. Int., Vol. 72, 1995.

  20. F.F. Ingrand and M.P. Georgeff. “Managing deliberation and reasoning in real-time ai systems.” In Procs. DARPA Workshop on Innovative Approaches to Planning, Scheduling and Control, pp. 284-291, 1990.

  21. H. Levesque, R. Reiter, Y. Lesperance, F. Lin and R. Scherl. “Golog: A logic programming language for dynamic domains.” Journal of Logic Programming, Vol. 31, pp. 59-84, 1997.

    Google Scholar 

  22. D. McDermott. “A reactive plan language.” Technical report, Computer Science Dept, Yale University, 1993.

  23. J. Muller and M. Pischel. “An architecture for dynamically interacting agents.” Int. Journal of Intelligent and Cooperative Information Systems Vol. 3–1, pp. 25-45, 1994.

    Google Scholar 

  24. N. Muscettola. “HSTS: Integrating planning and scheduling.” In Intelligent Scheduling (M. Fox and M. Zweben M., eds.). Morgan Kaufmann, 1994.

  25. G.H. Ogasawara. “A distributed, decision-theoretic control system for a mobile robot.” ACM SIGART Bulletin, Vol. 2–4, pp. 140-145, 1991.

    Google Scholar 

  26. B. Pell, D.E. Bernard, S.A. Chien, E. Gat, N. Muscettola, P.P. Nayak, M.D. Wagner and B.C. Williams. “An autonomous spacecraft agent prototype.” In Proceedings of the First Int'l Conference on Autonomous Agents (W.L. Johnson, ed.). ACM Press, pp. 253-261, 1997a.

  27. B. Pell, E. Gat, R. Keesing, N. Muscettola and B. Smith. “Robust periodic planning and execution for autonomous spacecraft.” In Procs. of IJCAI-97, 1997b.

  28. B. Pell, D.E. Bernard, S.A. Chien, E. Gat, N. Muscettola, P.P. Nayak, M.D. Wagner and B.C. Williams. An autonomous spacecraft agent prototype. Autonomous Robotics, Vol. 5–1, 1998.

  29. J.L. Pollock. “Planning agents.” In Foundations of Rational Agency (A. Rao and M. Wooldridge, eds.). Boston, MA: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1998.

    Google Scholar 

  30. M. Schoppers. “The use of dynamics in an intelligent controller for a space faring rescue robot.” Artificial Intelligence, Vol. 73–2, pp. 175-230, 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  31. R. Simmons. “An architecture for coordinating planning, sensing, and action.” In Procs. DARPA Workshop on Innovative Approaches to Planning, Scheduling and Control, pp. 292-297, 1990.

  32. D.E. Wilkins, K.L. Myers, J.D. Lowrance, and L.P. Wesley. “Planning and reacting in uncertain and dynamic environments.” JETAI, Vol. 7–1, pp. 197-227, 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  33. B.C. Williams and P.P. Nayak. “A model-based approach to reactive self-configuring systems.” In Procs. of AAAI-96, pp. 971-978. Cambridge, Mass.: AAAI, 1996.

    Google Scholar 

  34. B.C. Williams and P.P. Nayak. “A reactive planner for a model-based executive.” In Procs. of IJCAI-97, 1997.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. NASA Ames Research Center, RIACS, MS 269/2, Moffett Field, CA, 94035

    Barney Pell

  2. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA, 91109

    Edward B. Gamble & Erann Gat

  3. Caelum Research, NASA Ames Research Center, MS 269/2, Moffett Field, CA, 94035

    Ron Keesing

  4. NASA Ames Research Center, MS 269/2, Moffett Field, CA, 94035

    James Kurien & Brian C. Williams

  5. Caelum Research, NASA Ames Research Center, MS 269/2, Moffett Field, CA, 94035

    William Millar & Christian Plaunt

Authors
  1. Barney Pell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Edward B. Gamble
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Erann Gat
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Ron Keesing
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. James Kurien
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. William Millar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Christian Plaunt
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Brian C. Williams
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Pell, B., Gamble, E.B., Gat, E. et al. A Hybrid Procedural/Deductive Executive for Autonomous Spacecraft. Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems 2, 7–22 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010018821724

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010018821724

Search

Navigation