Autonomous Operations: Expectations vs. Reality (at NASA)

- Future deep-space exploration drives need for autonomy
- Communication time delay between Earth and deep-space system precludes Earth-based remote-control
- Autonomy is:
- Acting separately from others (Webster’s Dictionary)
- Able to independently choose how to act to achieve goals
- Autonomy is a relative term: Autonomous from whom? for what purpose? and when?
- Autonomous Operations is:
- Automatically controlled operation of a system that replaces human effort
- Able to perform a pre-specified set of instructions on its own
- Automation is a tool that enables and supports autonomy