Gobal - engagement with NASA JPL and ESA in Robotics, Brain Computer Interfaces, and Secure Adaptive Systems for Space Applications - RoBoSAS

该项目汇集了埃塞克斯大学几个主要研究小组的互补专门知识，即机器人、脑机接口、计算智能以及嵌入式和智能系统小组，以应对空间应用自主系统的重大挑战。它旨在显著加强和扩大与美国帕萨迪纳的加州理工学院/美国航天局喷气推进实验室（JPL）和欧洲航天局（ESA）在自主嵌入式系统、机器人技术、进化计算和BCI设计方面的现有合作，利用专门研究方案与联网活动相结合，包括学术人员和研究人员的短期和长期互访、学生实习和作为会议一部分举行的联合讲习班。为了实现我们的主要目标，即设计一个能够适应快速变化的动态环境的强大而可靠的自主机器人系统，我们将探索采用混合技术，这种技术比任何技术本身都更能够面对空间应用中出现的问题。例如，已经进行了非常有限的工作来使用经验非侵入式监测的概念，该概念驱动在潜在的敌对环境（例如空间）中操作的嵌入式机器人系统的自我修复过程。这个项目将探索这一点。需要解决的另一个主要因素是安全通信。通信安全在空间应用中至关重要。科学影响和与之相关的投资太大了，以至于不能冒未经授权闯入卫星或航天器的风险，或者远程驾驶火星车在行星上兜风。虽然数据加密技术现在已经非常复杂和完善，但当加密密钥的安全性不能得到绝对保证时，加密本身不一定能防止欺诈性数据操纵。因此，此外，该计划将探索加强合作伙伴之间在直接从数字系统的属性（ICmetrics，这个术语最初来自NASA JPL）中导出加密密钥方面的重要现有研究合作。此外，使用脑机接口技术控制外部设备的可能性可能会对未来太空任务的战略计划产生巨大影响。事实上，欧空局和喷气推进实验室都对这一领域感兴趣。埃塞克斯在这方面一直处于领先地位。埃塞克斯脑机接口小组是2006年与欧洲航天局签订合同的三个伙伴机构之一，负责对非侵入性脑机接口进行严格审查，并展望空间应用的未来前景。这项研究是同类研究中的第一项。此后，少数研究探讨了在空间应用中使用脑机接口的可能性。在这个项目中，我们将与由BCI研究人员、计算机科学家和空间专家组成的高质量研究团队一起探索许多途径。

The project brings together complementary expertise from several leading research groups of the University of Essex, namely Robotics, Brain-Computer-Interfaces (BCI), Computational Intelligence and the Embedded and Intelligent Systems group to address significant challenges in autonomous systems for space applications. It seeks to significantly enhance and widen an existing collaboration for the design of autonomous embedded systems, robotics,evolutionary computing and BCI with the California Institute of Technology / NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, USA and the European Space Agency (ESA), in utilising the combination of a dedicated research programme combined with networking activities, including short-term and longer exchange visits of both academic staff and researchers, student placements and joint workshops to be held as part of conferences. In order to achieve our primary aim of engineering a robust and reliable autonomous robotic systems capable of adapting to a rapidly changing dynamic environment, we will explore employing hybrid techniques that are better able to face the issues emerging from space applications than any technique in its own right. For example, very limited work has been carried out to use the concept of empirical non-intrusive monitoring that drives the self-healing process of an embedded robotic system that operates in a potentially hostile environment, such as space. This project will explore this. A further major factor to address is that of secure communications. Security of communication is of paramount importance in space applications. The scientific impact and the investment associated with them are simply too great to risk an unauthorised breaking into a satellite or a spacecraft, or remotely taking a rover for a joy ride on a planet. While data encryption techniques are now highly sophisticated and well established, encryption itself cannot necessarily protect against fraudulent data manipulation when the security of encryption keys cannot be absolutely guaranteed. So, additionally, the programme will explore enhancing the significant existing research collaboration between the partners in deriving encryption keys directly from properties of digital systems (ICmetrics, this term stems originally from NASA JPL). Also, the possibility of controlling external devices using brain-computer interface technology could have a tremendous influence on strategic plans for future space missions. Indeed there is interest both at ESA and JPL in this area. Essex has historically been leading in this area. The Essex BCI group was one of the three partner institutions who were contracted by the European Space Agency in 2006 to produce a critical review of non-invasive BCI with a look at future perspectives for space applications. This study was one of the first of its kind. The possibility of using BCI in space applications has since been explored by a small number of studies. In this project we will explore a number of avenues with a top quality research team of BCI researchers, computer scientists and space experts.