AgentCommand: A Control Center for Autonomous Distributed Satellite Systems

Princeton Satellite Systems, Inc.

Princeton, NJ

Set of user configurable software tools that lets users easily command and monitor agent-based, multiple satellite systems, as well as perform fault detection, identification and recovery on the system.

• AgentCommand software tools for the monitoring and analysis of multi-agent systems in a distributed spacecraft environment were prototyped in MATLAB
• The MATLAB AgentCommand tools have provided the basis for new JAVA command tools for the real-time version of PSS’s ObjectAgent™

• The new MATLAB tools are now part of the ObjectAgent Rapid Prototyping Toolbox product. Customers of this product to date have included the European Space Agency/ESTEC with sales of $8,000
• Customers of the real-time ObjectAgent include companies in China with sales of $5,000
• The planned markets for ObjectAgent are:
• OA-based distributed satellite systems, currently includes:
  • TechSat 21 formation flying module
  • Formation flying research at MIT and Cornell
• Non-aerospace multi-agent systems, such as chemical process control.
  • Currently includes robotics customer in China
  • Interest from Wind River for industrial control and network processing

• Cross-Enterprise Technology Development Project (CETDP) with MIT and Cornell to apply ObjectAgent software to formation flying of large numbers of spacecraft
• Administered through Goddard Space Flight Center
• $300K subcontract to Princeton Satellite Systems
• Research focus on estimation and navigation across the formation, including collision avoidance
• Commanding and monitoring innovation provides insight into and interaction with agent system behavior

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