Next generation system and software architectures Challenges from future NASA exploration missions

AbstractThe four key objective properties of a system that are required of it in order for it to qualify as “autonomic” are now well-accepted—self-configuring, self-healing, self-protecting, and self-optimizing—together with the attribute properties—viz. self-aware, environment-aware, self-monitoring and self-adjusting. This paper describes the need for next generation system software architectures, where components are agents, rather than objects masquerading as agents, and where support is provided for self-* properties (both existing self-chop and emerging self-* properties). These are discussed as exhibited in NASA missions, and in particular with reference to a NASA concept mission, ANTS, which is illustrative of future NASA exploration missions based on the technology of intelligent swarms

Autonomous and Autonomic Swarms

A watershed in systems engineering is represented by the advent of swarm-based systems that accomplish missions through cooperative action by a (large) group of autonomous individuals each having simple capabilities and no global knowledge of the group s objective. Such systems, with individuals capable of surviving in hostile environments, pose unprecedented challenges to system developers. Design and testing and verification at much higher levels will be required, together with the corresponding tools, to bring such systems to fruition. Concepts for possible future NASA space exploration missions include autonomous, autonomic swarms. Engineering swarm-based missions begins with understanding autonomy and autonomicity and how to design, test, and verify systems that have those properties and, simultaneously, the capability to accomplish prescribed mission goals. Formal methods-based technologies, both projected and in development, are described in terms of their potential utility to swarm-based system developers

Challenges of Developing New Classes of NASA Self-Managing Mission

NASA is proposing increasingly complex missions that will require a high degree of autonomy and autonomicity. These missions pose hereto unforeseen problems and raise issues that have not been well-addressed by the community. Assuring success of such missions will require new software development techniques and tools. This paper discusses some of the challenges that NASA and the rest of the software development community are facing in developing these ever-increasingly complex systems. We give an overview of a proposed NASA mission as well as techniques and tools that are being developed to address autonomic management and the complexity issues inherent in these missions

Biologically-Inspired Concepts for Autonomic Self-Protection in Multiagent Systems

Biologically-inspired autonomous and autonomic systems (AAS) are essentially concerned with creating self-directed and self-managing systems based on metaphors &om nature and the human body, such as the autonomic nervous system. Agent technologies have been identified as a key enabler for engineering autonomy and autonomicity in systems, both in terms of retrofitting into legacy systems and in designing new systems. Handing over responsibility to systems themselves raises concerns for humans with regard to safety and security. This paper reports on the continued investigation into a strand of research on how to engineer self-protection mechanisms into systems to assist in encouraging confidence regarding security when utilizing autonomy and autonomicity. This includes utilizing the apoptosis and quiescence metaphors to potentially provide a self-destruct or self-sleep signal between autonomic agents when needed, and an ALice signal to facilitate self-identification and self-certification between anonymous autonomous agents and systems