Provably Efficient and safe-against-Uncertainty control of autonomous systems – EUtonomous

Autonomous vehicles, space robots, energy networks, etc., Autonomous Systems (AS) are pervading our society. As AS step up to tackle ever-more complex tasks in unpredictably dynamic situations, they must ensure efficient and reliable operation across a large range of uncertainties. They include hazardous disturbances due to dynamic environments, e.g., pedestrians accidentally crossing or air purification systems inadvertently turning on aboard space outposts. These disturbances are currently scarcely modelled due to their complexity, making provably efficient and safe-against-uncertainty control of AS a high-stake challenge. The urgency is clear: we need trustworthy algorithms to control AS that not only enhance performance but also uphold safety standards against these undermodelled uncertainties.
EUtonomous will bridge this gap by moving away from traditional representations of the uncertainty. Thanks to more structured probabilistic models, I will enable accurate modeling of often dangerously undermodelled complex uncertainties through the decision making stack. I will show such refined modeling comes with high rewards: the structure of these models can be leveraged to compute data-driven surrogate (models) that are for the first time proved to be trustworthy in unpredictably dynamic situations. I will then devise novel algorithms for efficient and safe-against-uncertainty control of these surrogates. Theoretical guarantees and fast computations will endow these algorithms with a unique capability to effectively mitigate underrated rare, yet possibly catastrophic outcomes. Although EUtonomous' algorithms will spread across several applications, e.g., autonomous mobility and sustainable energy delivery, I will assess their trustworthiness via experiments on space robots operating in safety-critical circumstances aboard the International Space Station. A major goal consists of testing the autonomy required aboard forthcoming space outposts for Moon colonization.