The ANT FARM

Autonomous Nano Technology Functional Actuation and Resource Management

Shane Almeida
Ethan Croteau
Jon Freyberger

Advisor: Professor David C. Brown
Co-Advisor: Professor Fred J. Looft
Mentor: Mr. Walter Truszkowski
Mentor: Dr. Michael L. Rilee

Sponsored by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Major Qualifying Project MQP-DCB-02N2
Computer Science Department, WPI
Term A 2002

Project Overview

A fleet of around 100 pico-satellites will survey the asteroid belt and gather scientific information. These satellites will be required to act intelligently in real-time. Concepts from "swarm intelligence" are being investigated. At the current time a small simulation system exists. This system needs to be further developed. Some formal modeling of the ANTS concepts is currently underway using concepts from BDL (Belief, Desires, and Intentions) logic. Much conceptual development needs to be done. The relationship between higher-level reasoning and lower-level controls needs to be defined and modeled. The team will support the further development of the ANTS simulation, formal modeling and will also contribute to the further development of the concepts and scenarios associated with this project.

Abstract

The purpose of this project was to develop a low-level system architecture for the Goddard Space Flight Center for use in simulations of the Autonomous Nano Technology Swarm mission. The low-level system that was developed utilized a modular framework that accepted tasks from a high-level system and mapped them to action sequences that manipulated a spacecraft's underlying hardware. In addition, the low-level system incorporated mechanisms capable of detecting and correcting errors that occurred in the spacecraft's systems.

Related Links

• NASA
• Goddard Space Flight Center
• Autonomous Nano Technology Swarm
• ANTS Project Team 1
• Worcester Polytechnic Institute
• Computer Science Department
• WPI/GSFC Projects Program