Ground Processing Optimization Using Artificial Intelligence Techniques

The most direct targets for transition of this proposed effort are the large number of various payload and vehicle processing planning, scheduling, and execution applications at KSC, most specifically GP SLS processing and V&V scheduling, CTB Test Planning and Scheduling, and autonomous cryogenic operations. These customers will begin using delivered applications operationally during the Phase II. By showing their ability to create high-quality schedules with greatly reduced manpower, they will clearly illustrate the advantages over the status quo. Because it will be possible for SMEs to customize the applications themselves to their own scheduling problems, a large number of intelligent scheduling applications can be quickly developed. As more are fielded, additional synergies will be created by the cooperative interactions between the different intelligent scheduling applications. Capabilities to easily interface and interact cooperatively and in a peer-to-peer manner with legacy scheduling systems will also provide additional cooperative synergies. This is especially true given that Primavera is the designated schedule rendering and transmission tool for all of KSC and our system will have Primavera import/export capabilities. There is potential to automate the majority of scheduling decision-making at KSC with a corresponding massive savings in highly skilled manpower. Beyond KSC, NASA has many difficult scheduling problems the system could be readily adapted to.

Cape Canaveral Air Force Station has nearly identical scheduling problems as do the various commercial space companies (Space X, Blue Origin, Boeing, ULA, etc.). On the commercial side, Stottler Henke already sells the Aurora intelligent scheduling framework and associated customization services to private companies. Commercial Aurora sales have already resulted in over $5 million in revenue. Phase II improvements can be readily incorporated into Aurora and sold through existing channels. By providing for SME customization, this effort will be removing the most significant current constraint on Aurora sales—the need for Stottler Henke in 90% of the customization projects. An SME-customizable version of Aurora would be applicable to orders of magnitude more customers. And by requiring far less of our time, it would allow us to sell the product for far less. More specifically, the types of 3-D graphical resource and constraint editing and scheduling being added (for hazardous operations and space and weight limited areas) will also make the Phase II system applicable to the Ship Building, Refinery Turnaround, Power Plant Turnaround, Mining, and Commercial Space markets; commercial markets that we have specifically targeted for the new capabilities and have reseller agreements already for. We pledge to apply over $400,000 annually for 3 years (more than $1.2M total) to commercialize the proposed project results starting in the second year of the project. More »