Engineering Autonomous Space Software

这个提议基于两个前提：（1）增加自主性对未来的空间探索至关重要;（2）现有的编程方法应用于必须处理具有连续状态变量的环境的自主组件是繁琐的。对于定义良好的离散事件环境，上述理性代理方法已经发展得很好;然而，对于连续环境，感知过程需要与形成行为基础的抽象联系起来。随着环境的变化，抽象模型也可能发生变化。因此，需要代理，可以使用这些抽象，以帮助他们的决策过程中，使用这些在一个连续的世界的预测建模，并连接这些抽象到合理agents.This项目内的规划和目标的实现还打算取代目前复杂的编程技术，用于自主spacecraft控制，用更简单的声明式编程。高级，声明式的代理编程语言已在利物浦进行了研究，这些理论和语言将进一步发展的代理，需要预测建模能力。南安普顿团队在控制和预测的分析和经验模型的正式处理以及为真实的卫星开发控制软件方面都很有经验。这些主题的合并是非常有希望的。虽然研究结果可转移到地面车辆和机器人上，但该项目将特别说明空间应用中的新方法，包括模拟和实验室硬件演示。

This proposal is based on two premises: that (1) increased autonomy is essential for future space exploration; (2) that existing programming methods are tedious to apply to autonomous components that have to handle an environment with continuous state variables. For well defined discrete-event environments the above rational agent approach is well developed; for a continuous environment, however, perception processes need to be linked with abstractions forming the basis of behaviour. As the environment changes, the abstracted models may also change. Hence, agents are needed that can use these abstractions to aid their decision making processes, use these in the predictive modelling of a continuous world, and connect these abstractions to both planning and goal achievement within rational agents.This project also intends to replace the current complex programming techniques, used for autonomous spacecraftcontrol, with simpler declarative programming. High-level, declarative agent programming languages have been investigated at Liverpool and such theories and languages will be developed further for agents that require predictive modelling capabilities. The Southampton team is experienced both in the formal handling of analytical and empirical models for control and prediction, and in developing control software for real satellites. The merging of these themes is very promising. Although the results will be transferable to ground vehicles and robots, this project will particularly illustrate the new methods in space applications, both in simulation and laboratory hardware demonstrations.