ANALYZING THE CHALLENGES AND OBSTACLES TO DEVELOPING AND FIELDING AUTONOMOUS AND SEMI-AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS

Abstract

Autonomous and semi-autonomous systems operate on a system of systems (SoS) framework, utilizing their own ability to sense, perceive, analyze, and execute actions to achieve their goals. Unmanned systems present a significant challenge for the Department of Defense's (DoD) acquisition process that was established to develop and field man-in-the-loop type capabilities. The purpose of our thesis is to perform an analysis on the challenges of developing semi-autonomous and autonomous systems through the military acquisition process in order to determine best practices and trends necessary to increase the likelihood of program success.

The secondary goal of our analysis is to compare and contrast Test & Evaluation methodologies for systems with autonomous capabilities. The purpose of the test and evaluation process is to enable decision makers to manage technical risk and assess how robust and mature capabilities are prior to making a fielding decision. Autonomous systems require a rigorous test/build strategy that for most programs lead to cost overruns and schedule breaches. In addition, trying to keep pace with rapidly changing technologies outpaces the DoD’s ability to field mature systems with cutting-edge technology.