A multi agent simulation of collaborative air traffic flow management

Todays air traffic management system is not expected to scale to the projected increase in traffic over the next two decades. Enhancing collaboration between the controllers and the users of the airspace could lessen the impact of the resulting air traffic flow problems. The authors summarize a new concept that has been proposed for collaborative air traffic flow management, the problems it is meant to address, and our approach to evaluating the concept. The authors present their initial simulation design and experimental results, using several simple route selection strategies and traffic flow management approaches. Though their model is still in an early stage of development, these results have revealed interesting properties of the proposed concept that will guide their continued development, refinement of the model, and possibly influence other studies of traffic management elsewhere. Finally, they conclude with the challenges of validating the proposed concept through simulation and future work. Document type: Part of book or chapter of boo

An Integrated Traverse Planner and Analysis Tool for Planetary Exploration

Future planetary explorations will require surface traverses of unprecedented frequency, length, and duration. As a result, there is need for exploration support tools to maximize productivity, scientific return, and safety. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is currently developing such a system, called the Surface Exploration Traverse Analysis and Navigation Tool (SEXTANT). The goal of this system is twofold: to allow for realistic simulations of traverses in order to assist with hardware design, and to give astronauts an aid that will allow for more autonomy in traverse planning and re-planning. SEXTANT is a MATLAB-based tool that incorporates a lunar elevation model created from data from the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter instrument aboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft. To assist in traverse planning, SEXTANT determines the most efficient path across a planetary surface for astronauts or transportation rovers between user-specified Activity Points. The path efficiency is derived from any number of metrics: the traverse distance, traverse time, or the explorer’s energy consumption. The generated path, display of traverse obstacles, and selection of Activity Points are visualized in a 3D mapping interface. After a traverse has been planned, SEXTANT is capable of computing the most efficient path back home, or “walkback”, from any point along the traverse – an important capability for emergency operations. SEXTANT also has the ability to determine shadowed and sunlit areas along a lunar traverse. This data is used to compute the thermal load on suited astronauts and the solar power generation capacity of rovers over the entire traverse. These both relate directly to the explorer’s consumables, which place strict constraints on the traverse. This paper concludes by presenting three example traverses, detailing how SEXTANT can be used to plan and modify paths for both explorer types.Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Donald W. Douglas Fellowship)National Space Biomedical Research Institute (Grant HFP00003

Advantages of Brahms for Specifying and Implementing a Multiagent Human-Robotic Exploration System

We have developed a model-based, distributed architecture that integrates diverse components in a system designed for lunar and planetary surface operations: an astronaut's space suit, cameras, all-terrain vehicles, robotic assistant, crew in a local habitat, and mission support team. Software processes ('agents') implemented in the Brahms language, run on multiple, mobile platforms. These mobile agents interpret and transform available data to help people and robotic systems coordinate their actions to make operations more safe and efficient. The Brahms-based mobile agent architecture (MAA) uses a novel combination of agent types so the software agents may understand and facilitate communications between people and between system components. A state-of-the-art spoken dialogue interface is integrated with Brahms models, supporting a speech-driven field observation record and rover command system. An important aspect of the methodology involves first simulating the entire system in Brahms, then configuring the agents into a runtime system Thus, Brahms provides a language, engine, and system builder's toolkit for specifying and implementing multiagent systems

An integrated traverse planner and analysis tool for future lunar surface exploration

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2010.This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.Cataloged from student submitted PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 161-168).This thesis discusses the Surface Exploration Traverse Analysis and Navigation Tool (SEXTANT), a system designed to help maximize productivity, scientific return, and safety on future lunar and planetary explorations,. The goal of SEXTANT is twofold: to provide engineers with a realistic simulation of traverses to assist with hardware design, and to serve as an aid for astronauts that will allow for more autonomy in traverse planning and re-planning. SEXTANT is a MATLAB-based tool that computes the most efficient path between user-specified Activity Points across a lunar or planetary surface for a suited astronaut or transportation rover. Currently, SEXTANT uses an elevation model of the lunar south pole generated from topography data from the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter instrument aboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. The efficiency of a traverse is derived from any number of metrics: the path distance, time, or the explorer's energy consumption. Energy consumption is either the metabolic expenditure of an astronaut or the power usage of a transportation rover over the terrain. The user can select Activity Points and visualize the generated path on a 3D mapping interface. The capabilities of SEXTANT are further augmented by the Individual Mobile Agents System (iMAS) astronaut assistant, developed by NASA Ames. SEXTANT leverages iMAS's speech dialog interface to provide the explorer with real-time guidance and navigation along the most efficient path. SEXTANT can also calculate the sun position and shadowing with respect to points along the traverse and the time the explorer arrives at each of them. This data is then used to compute the thermal load on suited astronauts, or the solar power generation of rovers. Example traverses are presented for both types of explorers, showing the capabilities of SEXTANT and the dynamics of the thermal and power systems given different environmental conditions. All of its capabilities make SEXTANT the traverse planning tool with the most accurate and comprehensive representation of lunar and planetary traverses.by Aaron William Johnson.S.M