Bio-Inspired Autonomous Communications Systems with Anomaly Detection Monitoring

We propose to develop and demonstrate BioComm, a bio-inspired autonomous communications system (ACS) aimed at dynamically reconfiguring and redeploying autonomous communication assets in accordance with both mission objectives and communication demands simultaneously. BioComm is embedded with ADaM (Anomaly Detection and Monitorin) capability, which enables human supervisors or operators to exploit, benefit from, and interact with BioComm systems with high confidence by alerting the operators of multiple, heterogeneous ACSs on anomalous system behaviors without requiring a deep understanding of the functions in the underlying systems. The proposed solution (BioComm-ADaM) is based on the unique combination of: (i) Digital Hormone Model augmented with Criticality-Sensitive Control with the goal of achieving rapid self-configuration and fully autonomous adaptive deployment, redeployment, and reconfiguration of NASA's autonomous communication assets under a broad range of mission scenarios; and (ii) Surprise-Based Learning capable of learning the expected or normal behavior of a wide range of autonomous systems, detect any behavioral anomalies or deviations from the norm, identify potential causes, recommend some feasible changes to a human supervisor, and execute the selected or recommended changes. The BioComm system adds a powerful new degree of freedom for self-adaptation, which is the "mobility" of autonomous communication assets based on their awareness of the "communication environment", thus allowing radios to adapt both their software parameters and physical locations or formations so as to best support space missions. Thus, BioComm will greatly expand the feasible dimensions of self-adaptation for communication parameters by further allowing the autonomous assets to "move" to "right" places when the autonomous adaptation of parameters alone is not sufficient in order to achieve much greater and powerful autonomous end-to-end communication capabilities.

We offer two NASA applications of the proposed BioComm-ADaM system. First, consider a scenario where the maximum-distance communication parameter profile configuration is not able to close the link between two autonomous assets, which forces them to initiate the Disruption Tolerant Networking (DTN) mode (store and forward). Without the mobility autonomy, they must wait until they are positioned to be able to communicate again. However, if BioComm's mobility autonomy is available for one or both assets, it (or both) may be able to autonomously adjust their positions (with the objective of minimum navigation) until they can communicate again. As a result, the mission will greatly benefit from potentially significant reduction of communication delay. Similarly, when a group of autonomous assets are flying in a large formation as a distributed "antenna" or "telescope," the physical scope of the formation can be dynamically enlarged or enhanced by autonomously moving the assets to the correct location without losing the radio communication while still maintaining the formation shape. These new capabilities can be inserted into NASA's future autonomous assets (unmanned ground robots, spacecrafts, aerial drones, etc).

Our non-NASA commercialization plan begins by completing our proof of concept prototypes of BioComm-ADaM and its components on the commercial-off-the-shelf software defined radios being developed for unmanned aerial systems (UAS). Currently, EpiSci is in active discussions with several large prime contractors (e.g., Boeing) as well as Air Force Research Laboratories and Office of Secretary of Defense to explore the most viable ways to transition and commercialize the Bio-AI technology. We anticipate that once Bio-AI find a suitable transition home, most likely the same agency or company will serve as the place for the BioComm-ADaM commercialization as well. With sufficient system testing conducted for the feasibility and reliability of the prototype systems, we will seek protection of our inventions by filing patents.