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Design of autonomous systems for survivability through conceptual object-based risk analysis
Short, Adam R.
Short, Adam R.
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2016
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2017-06-17
Abstract
As human space exploration reaches the outer planets and other isolated environments through the use of autonomous and semi-autonomous systems, it becomes increasingly important that the autonomous systems be designed for survivability under unknown and hazardous conditions. Existing methods for autonomous system design for survivability are limited in their ability to adapt to unknown environments and do not use a combined control-design iteration in the early conceptual stage of design for increased survivability during system operations. To address the problem of control-design integration for survivability of an autonomous system, a functional model of the autonomous system of interest and the operating environment are constructed and analyzed using a system-of-systems approach. The Conceptual Object-Based Risk Analysis (COBRA) design methodology is a proposed four-phase iterating method that begins with early phase functional models of an autonomous system design that is analyzed to determine how potential failure may propagate through the autonomous system. Next, methods for integrated navigational control decisions with the physical design are tuned for use with the conceptual design. Then, an analysis of the proposed autonomous system’s fitness for a planned mission is evaluated. Finally, a physical and control design is proposed that is iterated upon starting from the first phase. The research presented in this thesis focuses on two case studies. The first case study focus is the control and conceptual design of an autonomous planetary rover and demonstrates the effectiveness of the COBRA method for improving an autonomous system’s ability to survive in a simulated Mars-like environment. The second case study adapts the COBRA method for application on a human-centered space mission modeled as a system-of-systems. The COBRA method has potential applications in space exploration, sea floor exploration and surveying, self-driving cars, space mission planning and analysis, and industrial automation.
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