Co-Explore: Adaptive Goal-based Cognitive Architecture for Human

Metron proposes to develop an adaptive and interactive cognitive system to address the technical challenge of providing onboard mission control decision support in deep space exploration missions where crewmembers must make crucial decisions in the absence of terrestrial mission control oversight. However, communications during deep space missions are challenging and impede mission monitoring and interactions with mission systems and personnel. Communication from ground control may take hours, or longer. We propose to build a modular and adaptive goal-based cognitive system with the understanding of spacecraft operations to provide effective mission management and control during periods of no or low communication. Our innovative cognitive architecture fuses goal-driven autonomy with an adaptive computational representation of mission control expert-knowledge to generate and prioritize spacecraft operations, produce goals in response to these operations, and communicate crew tasks and objectives to accomplish the goals. This solution will schedule high-level functions normally performed by human operators, such as logistics management, payload management, maintenance, and personnel health. It employs a flexible, intuitive, and explainable knowledge representation and case-based reasoning that enables the introspection necessary for the crew to query task reasoning. Additionally, our cognitive architecture will employ active learning to adapt and improve over time by incorporating crew feedback and experience into its knowledge.

The cognitive solution we are developing would expand the operational envelope of NASA space environment research by providing effective decision support to deep space space habitats and spacecraft, potentially saving lives and infrastructure. Within NASA’s projects this work would contribute to the Lunar Gateway or Artemis, as well as on space habitats on the Moon or Mars.

Minimally manned autonomous maritime vessels are an adjacent market for possible commercialization. There is a rise in demand for the transportation of cargo through water ways, which is less expensive for shipping goods as compared to road and air transits as by ships. Our cognitive system could provide efficient autonomous decision support to the skeleton crews onboard these vessels.

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 4) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

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