papers

Publications (14)

eess.SY2024

Deep Reinforcement Learning for Scalable Multiagent Spacecraft Inspection

Kyle Dunlap, Nathaniel Hamilton, Kerianne L. Hobbs

As the number of spacecraft in orbit continues to increase, it is becoming more challenging for human operators to manage each mission. As a result, autonomous control methods are…

eess.SY2024

Demonstrating Reinforcement Learning and Run Time Assurance for Spacecraft Inspection Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Kyle Dunlap, Nathaniel Hamilton, Zachary Lippay +3

On-orbit spacecraft inspection is an important capability for enabling servicing and manufacturing missions and extending the life of spacecraft. However, as space operations becom…

eess.SY2025

The Safe Trusted Autonomy for Responsible Space Program

Kerianne L. Hobbs, Sean Phillips, Michelle Simon +11

The Safe Trusted Autonomy for Responsible Space (STARS) program aims to advance autonomy technologies for space by leveraging machine learning technologies while mitigating barrier…

cs.AI2018

Verification for Machine Learning, Autonomy, and Neural Networks Survey

Weiming Xiang, Patrick Musau, Ayana A. Wild +5

This survey presents an overview of verification techniques for autonomous systems, with a focus on safety-critical autonomous cyber-physical systems (CPS) and subcomponents thereo…

cs.LG2022

Reachability Analysis of a General Class of Neural Ordinary Differential Equations

Diego Manzanas Lopez, Patrick Musau, Nathaniel Hamilton +1

Continuous deep learning models, referred to as Neural Ordinary Differential Equations (Neural ODEs), have received considerable attention over the last several years. Despite thei…

cs.SC2018

Simulation-Based Reachability Analysis for High-Index Large Linear Differential Algebraic Equations

Hoang-Dung Tran, Weiming Xiang, Nathaniel Hamilton +1

Reachability analysis is a fundamental problem for safety verification and falsification of Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) whose dynamics follow physical laws usually represented as…

cs.LG2022

Ablation Study of How Run Time Assurance Impacts the Training and Performance of Reinforcement Learning Agents

Nathaniel Hamilton, Kyle Dunlap, Taylor T Johnson +1

Reinforcement Learning (RL) has become an increasingly important research area as the success of machine learning algorithms and methods grows. To combat the safety concerns surrou…

eess.SY2024

Space Processor Computation Time Analysis for Reinforcement Learning and Run Time Assurance Control Policies

Kyle Dunlap, Nathaniel Hamilton, Francisco Viramontes +3

As the number of spacecraft on orbit continues to grow, it is challenging for human operators to constantly monitor and plan for all missions. Autonomous control methods such as re…

cs.LG2024

Investigating the Impact of Choice on Deep Reinforcement Learning for Space Controls

Nathaniel Hamilton, Kyle Dunlap, Kerianne L. Hobbs

For many space applications, traditional control methods are often used during operation. However, as the number of space assets continues to grow, autonomous operation can enable…

cs.RO2022

An Empirical Analysis of the Use of Real-Time Reachability for the Safety Assurance of Autonomous Vehicles

Patrick Musau, Nathaniel Hamilton, Diego Manzanas Lopez +2

Recent advances in machine learning technologies and sensing have paved the way for the belief that safe, accessible, and convenient autonomous vehicles may be realized in the near…

cs.LG2025

Investigating the Impact of Observation Space Design Choices On Training Reinforcement Learning Solutions for Spacecraft Problems

Nathaniel Hamilton, Kyle Dunlap, Kerianne L Hobbs

Recent research using Reinforcement Learning (RL) to learn autonomous control for spacecraft operations has shown great success. However, a recent study showed their performance co…

eess.SY2024

Run Time Assured Reinforcement Learning for Six Degree-of-Freedom Spacecraft Inspection

Kyle Dunlap, Kochise Bennett, David van Wijk +2

The trial and error approach of reinforcement learning (RL) results in high performance across many complex tasks, but it can also lead to unsafe behavior. Run time assurance (RTA)…

eess.SY2024

Run Time Assurance for Simultaneous Constraint Satisfaction During Spacecraft Attitude Maneuvering

Cassie-Kay McQuinn, Kyle Dunlap, Nathaniel Hamilton +2

A fundamental capability for On-orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing (OSAM) is inspection of the vehicle to be serviced, or the structure being assembled. This research ass…

eess.SY2017

Dissipation of stop-and-go waves via control of autonomous vehicles: Field experiments

Raphael E. Stern, Shumo Cui, Maria Laura Delle Monache +11

Traffic waves are phenomena that emerge when the vehicular density exceeds a critical threshold. Considering the presence of increasingly automated vehicles in the traffic stream,…