Category Archives: News Features

NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) announced today that the proposal by Prof. Kristin Yvonne Rozier entitled “Multi-Platform, Multi-Architecture Runtime Verification of Autonomous Space Systems” was selected for funding under the call for Verification and Validation of Autonomous Systems.

According to NASA: “The Early Career Faculty (ECF) component of the Space Technology Research Grants Program awards grants to accredited U.S. universities on behalf of outstanding faculty researchers early in their careers. ECF challenges early career faculty to examine the theoretical feasibility of ideas and approaches that are critical to making science, space travel, and exploration more effective, affordable, and sustainable. Awards result from successful proposals to the ECF Appendix to the SpaceTech-REDDI NASA Research Announcement. The ECF Appendix is expected to be released at least biannually and will feature specific topics. Awards are expected to be a maximum of three years in duration and the typical award amount is $200K/year.”

Abstract:
Autonomous systems are only capable of effective self-governing if they can reliably sense their own faults and respond to failures and uncertain environmental conditions. We propose to design a real-time, onboard runtime verification and system health management (SHM) framework called R2U2, to continuously monitor essential system components such as sensors, software, and hardware for detection and diagnosis of failures and violations of safety or performance rules during the mission of autonomous space systems, such as rovers, small satellites, or Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) flying in the skies of other planets. R2U2 is multi-platform and multi-architecture to address the requirements and capabilities of these embedded systems. R2U2 stands for Responsive, Realizable, Unobtrusive Unit; it is named after its three crucial properties that are currently absent from state-of-the-art SHM capabilities. Responsiveness means evaluating system health in real time, with provable timing and performance guarantees. Realizability involves being adaptable, extensible, and scalable to multiple platforms and architectures. Unobtrusiveness requires R2U2 to operate without altering crucial properties of the system: functionality, certifiability, timing, or tolerances for size, weight, power, telemetry bandwidth, software overhead. A full-scale version of R2U2, with options for hardware- and software-based implementations would have tremendous impact on the ability of autonomous space systems to perform real-time system-level reasoning about their health.

Congratulations to the seven fellow NASA ECF Award Winners: Necmiye Ozay (University Of Michigan), Seok Woo Lee (University of Connecticut), SungWoo Nam (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), Sonia Chernova (Georgia Institute of Technology), Dimitra Panagou (University Of Michigan), Daniel Szafir (University Of Colorado, Boulder), and Stefanie Tellex (Brown University).

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) Program announced today that the proposal by Prof. Kristin Yvonne Rozier entitled CAREER: Theoretical Foundations of the UAS in the NAS Problem (Unmanned Aerial Systems in the National Air Space) was selected for funding.

According to the NSF: “The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program is a Foundation-wide activity that offers the National Science Foundation’s most prestigious awards in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organizations. Such activities should build a firm foundation for a lifetime of leadership in integrating education and research.”

The following is a quote from the NSF’s Program Description for the CAREER award:

“This premier program emphasizes the importance the Foundation places on the early development of academic careers dedicated to stimulating the discovery process in which the excitement of research is enhanced by inspired teaching and enthusiastic learning. Effective integration of research and education generates a synergy in which the process of discovery stimulates learning, and assures that the findings and methods of research and education are quickly and effectively communicated in a broader context and to a larger audience.

“The CAREER program embodies NSF’s commitment to encourage faculty and academic institutions to value and support the integration of research and education. Successful PIs will propose creative, integrative and effective research and education plans, developed within the context of the mission, goals, and resources of their organizations, while building a firm foundation for a lifetime of contributions to research, education and their integration.”

Abstract: Theoretical Foundations of the UAS in the NAS Problem

Due to their increasing use by civil and federal authorities and vast commercial and amateur applications, Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) will be introduced into the National Air Space (NAS); the question is only how this can be done safely. Today, NASA and the FAA are designing a new, (NextGen) automated air traffic control system for all aircraft, manned or unmanned. New algorithms and tools will need to be developed to enable computation of the complex questions inherent in designing such a system while proving adherence to rigorous safety standards. Researchers must develop the tools of formal analysis to be able to address the UAS in the NAS problem, reason about UAS integration during the design phase of NextGen, and tie this design to on-board capabilities to provide runtime System Health Management (SHM), ensuring the safety of people and property on the ground. This proposal takes a holistic view and integrates advances in the state of the art from three intertwined perspectives to address safe integration of unmanned systems into the national airspace: from on-board the vehicle, from the environment (NAS), and from the underlying theory enabling their formal analysis. There has been rapid development of new UAS technologies yet few of them are formally mathematically rigorous to the degree needed for FAA safety-critical system certification. This project bridges that gap, integrating new UAS and air traffic control designs with advances in formal analysis. Within the wealth of promising directions for autonomous UAS capabilities, this project fills a unique need, providing a direct synergy between on-board UAS SHM, the NAS environment in which they must operate, and the theoretical foundations common to both of these.

This research will help to build a safer NAS with increased capacity for UAS and create broadly impactful capabilities for SHM on-board UAS. Advancements will require theoretical research into more scalable model checking and debugging of safety properties. Safety properties express the sentiment that “something bad does not happen” during any system execution; they represent the vast majority of the requirements for NextGen designs and all requirements researchers can monitor on-board a UAS for system heath management during runtime. This research will tackle new frontiers in embedding health management capabilities on-board UAS. Collaborations with aerospace system designers at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and tool designers at the Bruno Kessler Foundation will aid real-life utility and technology transfer. Broader impact will be achieved by involving undergraduate students in the design of an open-source, affordable, all-COTS and 3D-printable UAS, which will facilitate flight testing of this project’s research advances. An open-UAS design for academia will be useful both for classroom demonstrations and as a research platform. Further impact will be achieved by using this UAS and the research it enables in interactive teaching experiences for K-12, undergraduate, and graduate students and in mentoring outreach specifically targeted at girls achieving in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects.

CEAS News features the Laboratory for Temporal Logic today with a story about Professor Kristin Yvonne Rozier and friend of the Lab, Professor Eric W. D. Rozier: “UC Power Couple Uses Data Science for Social Good.”

Data Science for Social Good, Day 1

As Faculty Fellows at the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Data Science for Social Good (DSSG) Fellowship, the Professors Rozier serve as Technical Mentors for projects aimed at using data science to make a difference.

The announcement featuring Dr. Rozier’s Group Achievement Award from NASA has been posted to CEAS Homepage News and University of Cincinnati news.

CEAS Welcomes NASA Award Winner, Kristin Yvonne Rozier, PhD, University of Cincinnati As one of the several new faculty members added to the UC College of Engineering and Applied Science, Kristin Yvonne Rozier continues to prove her excellence with her Group Achievement Award from NASA. Read more…

The NASA Astrogram, the official newsletter for NASA’s Ames Research Center, featured our lab for the second time in their Spring volume. The article, entitled, “Kristin Yvonne Rozier wins Women in Aerospace award” overviews the research contributions and related work for which Dr. Rozier was awarded WIA’s Inaugural Initiative-Inspiration-Impact Award in Arlington, VA in November, 2013. Check out page 10 for the full article!

Women@NASA posted a feature on three of NASA’s leaders who were recognized by Women in Aerospace for their contributions to the aerospace community and commitment to engaging women in the field. Michelle Thaller, Molly Brown and Kristin Yvonne Rozier were honored at the 28th annual Women in Aerospace Awards Dinner and Ceremony in Arlington, Va. The article is titled NASA Leaders Recognized by Women in Aerospace

The story on Dr. Rozier was also picked up by Rice University: “CS Alum Recognized by WIA.”

Women You Should Know has featured our lab! See their article Women In Aerospace: Nine Women You Should Know Honored With 2013 Awards.”

Women In Aerospace Honors Nine Exceptional Women with its 2013 Awards. Dr. Kristin Yvonne Rozier will receive the Inaugural Initiative-Inspiration-Impact Award from Women in Aerospace “For exemplary achievement of formal specification, verification, and validation of a NextGen air traffic control system candidate and for dedication as a mentor and role model.” This prestigious award is presented for an individual in her early career, who consistently surpasses expectations from a technical, interpersonal, and management perspective, commitment to professional growth, and service as a role model or mentor that shows dedication to the advancement of women in aerospace. The article states:

Women in Aerospace is proud to recognize nine outstanding women for their contributions to the aerospace industry and to the advancement of women in the field. These women will be honored at the 28th annual Women in Aerospace Awards Dinner and Ceremony with a reception and dinner. The event will be held on October 29, 2013 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Arlington, VA.

The story was also picked up by SpaceRef!