The Quest to Ensure Safe Autonomous Decisions and Control
This talk explores the critical challenge of ensuring the safe operation of autonomous aerospace systems that incorporate machine learning decision and control components. It spans a diverse set of methodologies, including risk assessment, adaptive stress testing, advances in formal methods, and neural network verification, all integrated with dynamic safety filtering and control barrier function strategies. Emphasis is placed on how reinforcement learning-based neural network controllers can be effectively bounded and monitored in real time through innovative runtime assurance techniques that dynamically intervene to mitigate hazardous behaviors while preserving mission objectives. Broader considerations, such as certification processes and ethical implications, are also addressed, providing a holistic perspective on the challenges and opportunities in advancing autonomous aerospace technologies.
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- Starts 16 September 2025 05:00 AM UTC
- Ends 23 October 2025 08:00 PM UTC
- No Admission Charge
Speakers
Dr. Kerianne Hobbs
Biography:
Bio: Dr. Kerianne Hobbs leads space vehicle autonomy and trust research at The Aerospace Corporation since August 2025. Previously, as the Safe Autonomy Lead at the Air Force Research Laboratory, Dr. Hobbs directed the Safe Trusted Autonomy for Responsible Spacecraft (STARS) program. This program focused on leveraging neural network control systems trained using reinforcement learning for multi-vehicle autonomous satellite proximity operations concepts, developing runtime assurance technologies to maintain spacecraft autonomy within mission and operational constraints, and integrating these advancements into a human-AI interface that allowed operators to compare various autonomous control solutions and adjust mission parameters. Prior to her work on STARS, she contributed to automatic collision avoidance technology. Dr. Hobbs holds a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, an M.S. in Astronautical Engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology, and a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Recognition: Dr. Hobbs's significant contributions to the aerospace autonomy community are underscored by her selection for the 2024 AIAA Associate Fellow Class and the 2020 AFCEA 40 Under 40 award. Notably, she was a member of the team that earned the prestigious 2018 Collier Trophy for the Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System, a testament to its impact, now displayed at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C. Her leadership extends to influential roles within the community, including previously leading the AIAA Autonomy Task Force and serving as secretary and publications lead of the AIAA Intelligent Systems Technical Committee. She has also contributed to the NASA Formal Methods Program Committee, the IEEE Aerospace Conference Committee, and the IEEE Space Mission Challenges for Information Technology Program Committee.
Address:United States