Supervisory Node for Autonomous Device Command Construction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current command and control systems for distributed self-propelled devices lack an integrated solution for autonomously managing sensor information, device status, and human-defined policies to effectively construct and communicate device commands, leading to inefficiencies in decision-making and operation.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising a supervisory node with a communications interface, processor, and display that receives sensor and status information from distributed self-propelled devices, determines useful life prognostics, and constructs device commands based on human-defined policies, enabling autonomous decision-making and communication with the devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If current command and control systems are used for distributed self-propelled devices, then device control is possible, but decision-making efficiency and operational effectiveness are insufficient due to lack of integrated autonomous management
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service through autonomous agents that independently manage their respective devices. Each agent collects sensor data, assesses device status, determines prognostics, and constructs commands without requiring constant human intervention, allowing the system to serve itself in decision-making processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The command and control system is segmented into multiple autonomous agents, each responsible for specific devices or functions. This segmentation allows parallel processing of information from different devices and enables distributed decision-making, improving overall system efficiency and responsiveness.
2Productivity
If manual control methods are used for distributed devices, then human oversight is maintained, but operational efficiency decreases due to lack of automated command construction
Solution Approach 1:
The autonomous agents are designed with multi-functionality, capable of performing diverse tasks including data collection, status assessment, prognostic determination, and command construction. This universal approach simplifies the system architecture by using standardized agents rather than separate specialized systems for each function.
Solution Approach 2:
Autonomous agents serve as intermediaries between raw sensor data and human operators, automatically processing and interpreting device information. These mediators construct meaningful commands from complex sensor inputs, reducing the complexity burden on both the system architecture and human decision-makers.
3Loss of information
If sensor information from multiple devices is collected, then situational awareness is improved, but information processing burden increases without automated analysis
Solution Approach 1:
The autonomous agents perform preliminary actions by continuously monitoring and pre-processing sensor information from their respective devices. They assess device status and determine useful life prognostics in advance, so that when human operators need information, it is already analyzed and ready for decision-making.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback loops where autonomous agents continuously receive sensor data, process it through assessment and prognostic determination, and generate commands that are sent back to devices. This closed-loop feedback mechanism ensures situational awareness is maintained while processing time is minimized through automated iterative refinement.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and system comprises a plurality of electronically controlled distributed devices and a supervisory node. The supervisory node comprises a communications interface, a processor, and a display. The supervisory node is configured to communicate with the plurality of electronically controlled distributed devices via the communications interface. The supervisory node is adapted to receive sensor information, to receive functionality information and device status information, to determine useful life prognostics from the functionality information, to obtain human defined policy and strategy directives, to assess the useful life prognostics and device status information based on the human defined policy and strategy directives to provide device assessments, to construct device commands for the plurality of electronically controlled distributed devices based on the device assessments using the processor, and to communicate the device commands to the plurality of electronically controlled distributed via the communications interface.