Agent Technologies for Space Applications: The DAFA Experience

-- The Distributed Agents For Autonomy (DAFA) study has been performed for ESA/ESTEC by SciSys UK Ltd, VEGA, and Politecnico di Milano in 2008-2009. The aim of DAFA study has been to examine the application of distributed agent technology to increase the overall performance of a space mission. It is important to note that the distribution should be seen on a system level, including both earth- and space-based agents. From an analysis of past, present, and future space missions, the ExoMars mission was identified as a mission where the application of agent technology seemed profitable. After analysis of different agent frameworks, JADE was chosen to develop a software prototype for a scenario based on an ExoMars-like mission. This demonstrator has been used to highlight the advantages of a DAFA approach for the definition of the mission architecture. Keywords

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2010
• Where: IAT
• Authors: Francesco Amigoni, Andrea Brambilla, Michèle Lavagna, Rick Blake, Ian le Duc, Jonathan Page, Oliver Page, Sonia de la Rosa Steinz, Robin Steel, Quirien Wijnands
• Keywords: Agent Technology, DAFA, IAT 2010, Intelligent Agents, Space Missions