Decision Support for Operators of Fully Autonomous Systems using RESTORE: Robust Execution System for Trusted Operation in Relevant Environments

SSCI and MIT (Prof. Julie Shah) propose to develop and test a system that provides real-time assurance and trust in decisions made by autonomous collaborating vehicles. The proposed system is referred to as the RESTORE and represents a decision support tool which facilitates decision making by the operator in cases when decisions by the Collaborative Autonomy (CA) system results in deviations from mission objectives. RESTORE has the following key elements: (i) Contextual Interrogation Engine which uses an innovative approach to contextualize the interrogation and increase trust in autonomy; (ii) Dynamic assurance engine which monitors mission parameters during operation and, in the case of deviations, provides the operator with alternate courses of action; and (iii) Vehicle-agnostic middleware which enables RESTORE to work with CA systems employing heterogeneous platforms operating in different domains. RESTORE will extend our field-proven CA system which has been demonstrated through in-water tests with 40 collaborating UUVs under the DARPA CNAV Program. SSCI is one of the leaders in development, implementation and transition of CA systems to operational platforms. This, combined with MIT’s expertise in machine intelligence and human-machine teaming, will result in an enhanced capability applicable to a range of DoD programs and platforms.