Performance guarantees for C-WMD robot missions

Abstract

Abstract-Robotics has been considered as one of the five key technology areas for defense against attacks with weapons of mass destruction (WMD). However, due to the mass impact nature of WMD, failures of counter-WMD (C-WMD) missions can have catastrophic consequences. To ensure robots' success in carrying out C-WMD missions, we have developed a novel verification framework in providing performance guarantees for behavior-based and probabilistic robot algorithms in complex real-world environments. This paper describes the system architecture and discusses how the verification framework can be used to provide pre-mission performance guarantees for robots in executing C-WMD missions.

Verifying and validating multirobot missions

“…To handle this, we need to support non-TR processes in the concurrent communicating composition of the system process. In [12] we consider a waypoint mission, and in [5] a search and acquire C-WMD mission. Both of these require a single non-TR process in the system, and we extend our definition of satisfy (Def.…”

“…For a waypoint example, the subsystems are the individual moves and the components of the criteria are the individual location constraints [12]. For a C-WMD search and acquire mission, the subsystems are the search component and the acquire component, and the components of the criterion are the target detection probability and final target location constraint [5].…”

“…We have developed an approach that can be used by mission designers to determine whether or not a performance guarantee for their mission software, when carried out under the uncertain conditions of a real-world environment, will hold within a threshold probability. The paper builds upon our previous work in single robot missions [5] [11].The contribution of this paper is the verification for multi-robot missions.…”

Stochastic hybrid systems modeling and performance verification of behavior-based robots

“…Recent literatures address the performance guarantee problems in BBR through different approaches. In [5], [8], [9], BBR is modeled by process algebra (PA) and performance verification is done by filter design techniques in Bayesian networks. By defining a set of basic processes, the authors describe the execution of the robot in tail-recursive manner with complex processes being a composition of basic processes.…”

Automatic Verification of Autonomous Robot Missions

“…Our research, conducted for the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), takes a different approach, utilizing process algebras as the basis for the representation as opposed to the temporal logics so often used in model checking. We feel this provides a better match for the requirements of real-time autonomy, and have had success in its application on a range of robotic missions: single robot waypoint [11], multi-robot bounding overwatch [14] and search and explore [7].…”