The Quest to Ensure Safe Autonomous Decisions and Control

This talk explores the critical challenge of ensuring the safe operation of autonomous aerospace systems that incorporate machine learning decision and control components. It spans a diverse set of methodologies, including risk assessment, adaptive stress testing, advances in formal methods, and neural network verification, all integrated with dynamic safety filtering and control barrier function strategies. Emphasis is placed on how reinforcement learning-based neural network controllers can be effectively bounded and monitored in real time through innovative runtime assurance techniques that dynamically intervene to mitigate hazardous behaviors while preserving mission objectives. Broader considerations, such as certification processes and ethical implications, are also addressed, providing a holistic perspective on the challenges and opportunities in advancing autonomous aerospace technologies.
Speaker(s): Dr. Kerianne Hobbs
Virtual: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/501415