Imagine that your car is in conversation with other traffic and road signals while you are traveling. These conversations help your car anticipate the actions that you cannot see: the sudden slowdown in a truck while it starts to turn to you, or an obscured traffic signal becoming red. Meanwhile, this system has drawn a course that will take you to a station to recharge or refuel, while a conversation with a meteorological service prepares your wipers and brakes for the rain to come.
This trip requires a lot of communication between business systems, government agencies and organizations. How could these different entities – each with their own owner technology – could share data in complete real time to make your trip safe, efficient and pleasant?
The technologists of the NASA Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley in California have created a framework called Data & Reasoning Fabrication (DRF), a set of software infrastructure, tools, protocols, governance and policies that allow a secure and secure sharing of data and a logical forecast creation between different operators and machines. Originally developed By focusing on the supply of autonomous aviation drones with decision -making capacities, DRF is now explored for other applications.
This means that one day, technology focused on DRF may allow your car to receive traffic data safely and safe from stopped stop lights and share data with other vehicles on the road. In this scenario, DRF is the choreographer of a complex dance of moving objects, guaranteeing that everyone moves transparently compared to a shared objective. The system is designed to create an integrated environment, combining data from systems that would not be able to interact with each other.
“DRF is built to be used behind the scenes,” said David Alfano, chief of the Division of Smart Systems in Ames. “Companies are developing autonomous technology, but their systems are not designed to work with competitors technology. DRF technology fills this gap, organizing these systems to work together in harmony. ”
Traffic improvements are just a use case for this innovative system. Technology could improve the way we use autonomy to support human needs on earth, in the air and even on the moon.
Support complex logistics
To illustrate the impact of technology, the DRF team worked with the city of Phoenix An aviation solution Improve the transport of critical medical supplies, from urban areas to rural communities with limited access to these resources. An autonomous system identified where supplies were necessary and led a drone to collect and transport supplies quickly and safely.
“All the parts must meet, which requires a lot of effort. DRF technology provides a framework where suppliers, medical centers and drone operators can work together effectively, “Moustafa Abdelbaky, principal computer scientist at Ames said. “The objective is not to remove human involvement, but to help humans to achieve more.”
DRF technology is part of a broader effort at Ames to develop concepts that allow autonomous operations while integrating them into the public and commercial sector to create safer and effective environments.
“At NASA, we always learn something. There is a silver lining at the end of a project, you can identify a new learned lesson, a new application or a new economic opportunity to continue and evolve this work, “said Supreet Kaur, engineer of main systems at Ames. “And because we take advantage of all the knowledge that we have acquired through these experiences, we are able to make the research future more robust.”
Choreographed autonomy
Industries such as modern mining involve a variety of autonomous and advanced vehicles and machines, but these systems are confronted with the challenge of communicating enough to operate in the same area. The “choreography” of DRF technology could help them work together, improving efficiency. Researchers have encountered a commercial mining business to find out what problems they fight when using autonomous equipment to identify where DRF could provide future solutions.
“If an autonomous exercise is developed by a company, but the transport trucks are developed by another, these two machines dance on two different sets of music. At the moment, they must be separated manually for security,” said Johnathan Stock, chief scientist for innovation in the division of smart measures. “DRF technology can harmonize their autonomous work so that these mining companies can use autonomy in all areas to create a safer and more efficient business.”
Other DRF tests on equipment such as those used in mines could be carried out in the Roversse landscape of NASA Ames, an area that includes obstacles such as slopes and rocks, where DRF choreography could be put to the test.
The actions also consider that DRF improves operations on the moon. Autonomous vehicles could transport materials, drill and search, while launch vehicles come and go. These operations will likely include systems of different companies or industries and could be choreographed by DRF.
As autonomous systems and technologies are increasing on the markets, on earth, orbit and on the moon, DRF researchers are ready to walk on the dance floor to make sure that everything is going smoothly.
“When everyone dances on the same melody, things take place in a transparent way, and the more possible.”