Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Tech Transfer
Constraint-Checking Editor for Procedure Tracking (ConCEPT)
Project Description
Constructing, maintaining, and adapting operational procedures for manned space operations is a complex task, requiring the procedure author to satisfy constraints resulting from the system configuration, current state, and a set of procedural constraints imposing additional restrictions on these procedures. For operations on NASA's International Space Station (ISS), these procedural constraints may be of several different types. Notes, Cautions, Warnings, and Inhibits are all relevant types of procedural constraints. Phase I of the Constraint-Checking Editor for Procedure Tracking (ConCEPT) established the feasibility of constructing a constraint-checking system for procedures represented in the Procedure Representation Language (PRL). Using automated translation and Constraint Satisfaction Problem (CSP) generation technologies developed on previous projects, ConCEPT assists users in identifying conflicts and inconsistencies in PRL procedures as they are developed. The user edits a PRL procedure in the Procedure Integrated Development Environment (PrIDE), using procedure steps that have been annotated with procedural constraints. As the procedure is being developed, ConCEPT automatically and continuously gathers appropriate procedural constraints and checks them against the procedure. ConCEPT then alerts the user to any violated constraints. Phase I defined relevant scenarios of use and established feasibility by demonstrating a proof-of-concept system to relevant NASA flight controllers.
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Anticipated Benefits
This effort will support users of the Procedure Representation Language (PRL) and the PRL authoring tool PrIDE. The mission scenarios eval- uated in Phase I were provided by the Mission Operations Directorate (MOD) at Johnson Space Center (JSC). PRL and PrIDE are being actively used or evaluated for use for a wide variety of mission operations. MOD has used PrIDE to write over 100 International Space Station (ISS) procedures over the past several years and is currently evaluating PrIDE for use to author all procedures, ground and on-board, for Orion and future space vehicles. The JSC Rapid Prototyp- ing Laboratory (RPL) uses PrIDE to author experimental Orion procedures. The JSC Morpheus project currently uses PrIDE, as does the JSC Deep Space Habitat (DSH) project. The addition of ConCEPT to PrIDE will provide automated constraint checking for authoring procedures for a large and increasing range of mission applications.
Other near-term potential applications for ConCEPT include domains where complex, partially-manual operations are implemented in terms of, and decomposed into, simpler, local actions, checks, and sensor readings. Specific examples include industrial process control and operations, unmanned autonomous vehicle operations, and possibly logistics and transportation applications. ConCEPT will allow for the gradual adoption of automated procedures that are integrated with planning systems (e.g., enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems). Military domains have complex operational constraints derived from both relevant doctrine and operation-specific "rules of engagement," much like NASA's flight rules and procedural constraints. ConCEPT will allow combat commanders from the brigade to the company level to generate efficient plans that integrate human and robotic units. Longer-term potential applications would extend that set to fully-automated applications. More »
Other near-term potential applications for ConCEPT include domains where complex, partially-manual operations are implemented in terms of, and decomposed into, simpler, local actions, checks, and sensor readings. Specific examples include industrial process control and operations, unmanned autonomous vehicle operations, and possibly logistics and transportation applications. ConCEPT will allow for the gradual adoption of automated procedures that are integrated with planning systems (e.g., enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems). Military domains have complex operational constraints derived from both relevant doctrine and operation-specific "rules of engagement," much like NASA's flight rules and procedural constraints. ConCEPT will allow combat commanders from the brigade to the company level to generate efficient plans that integrate human and robotic units. Longer-term potential applications would extend that set to fully-automated applications. More »
Project Library
Primary U.S. Work Locations and Key Partners
| Organizations Performing Work | Role | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Galois, Inc. | Lead Organization | Industry | Portland, Oregon |
Ames Research Center
(ARC)
|
Supporting Organization | NASA Center | Moffett Field, California |
Primary U.S. Work Locations
-
California
-
Minnesota
-
Oregon
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