Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Therefore, the planning and control systems of other agent technologies must
be carefully studied and possibly modified for insertion in spacecraft systems.
Software agents assume that communication costs are modest and that
communication is rapid. These systems often have gregarious agents that
would rather ask for help than work out a solution for themselves. In space
applications, most communication is expensive and the timeliness of deliv-
ery depends on the distance between the vehicles or between a vehicle and a
ground station. While collaboration is desired and necessary to achieve ob-
jectives, approaches that are more introspective will be necessary to limit
communications and handle speed-of-light delays.
Much of the work on software agents has involved the construction of infor-
mational agents. Their primary purpose has been the acquisition of knowledge
in support of human goals. While spacecraft both collect information and sup-
port human goals, to achieve their objective, they must make many real-world
decisions that require types of autonomy not necessary in the construction of
informational agents.
When a software agent has a programming bug and fails, it is modified
and restarted with little fanfare. This is often true of ground-based robots and
immobots. Certain software failures in spacecraft are dangerous and could
cause the loss of the whole mission.
Most believe that agent cooperation means communicating with humans
or other agents to work toward a common goal. This is not the only mode
of cooperation. Two or more spacecraft flying in formation may not be in
direct communication with one another, but they still cooperate as the data
they collect are merged to form a more complete picture. These simple modes
of cooperation can assist in achieving missions with lower costs and risks.
As will be discussed in the next chapter, the potential for cooperative
autonomy technologies in spacecraft systems is large, but, as this section has
shown, the use of this technology will require considerate and careful design.
