A Model-Based Approach to Reactive Self-Configuring Systems

This paper describes Livingstone, an implemented kernel for a model-based reactive self-configuring autonomous system. It presents a formal characterization of Livingstone’ s representation formalism, and reports on our experience with the implementation in a variety of domains. Livingstone provides a reactive system that performs significant deduction in the sense/response loop by drawing on our past experience at building fast propositional conflict-based algorithms for model-based diagnosis, and by framing a model-based configuration manager as a propositional feedback controller that generates focused, optimal responses. Livingstone’ s representation formalism achieves broad coverage of hybrid hardware/software systems by coupling the transition system models underlying concurrent reactive languages with the qualitative representations developed in model-based reasoning. Livingstone automates a wide variety of tasks using a single model and a single core algorithm, thus making significant progress towards achieving a central goal of model-based reasoning. Livingstone, together with the HSTS planning and scheduling engine and the RAPS executive, has been selected as part of the core autonomy architecture for NASA’ s first New Millennium spacecraft.

Authors

• Brian C. Williams

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