This seminar will cover three topics -- certification challenges for autonomous systems, a DoD-relevant application domain for human-autonomous mission planning, and formal methods for synthesis of human-automation mission plans. For the first topic, we will start by discussing current certification practices for avionics, then discuss challenges for extending these practices for autonomous systems. For the second topic, we will describe a mission scenario in which multiple unmanned air, ground, and sea vehicles must be used by a human operator to provide security for base defense. We will also describe some preliminary system designs, as well as general research challenges for this domain. And for the third topic, we will present an approach to generating mission plans from human inputs using formal methods inspired by model checking.
Dr. Laura Humphrey has worked for the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio since 2009. Her research involves the use of formal methods for system design, verification, and certification, especially in the context of autonomous multi-UAV systems. In particular, her current work focuses on using temporal logics, model checking, hybrid systems theory, and agent-based design techniques to develop frameworks and interfaces for joint human-UAV mission planning.