Watchdog Monitor Prevents Martian Oxygen Production Plant from Shutting Itself Down During Storm

Abstract

A distributed intelligent controller was built for high-autonomy operation of a prototype of a Martian Oxygen Production Plant. During a 100 hour test run conducted to verify the reliability of the high-autonomy control architecture, the controller broke down in the consequence of a lightning stroke. The intelligent controller was able to recognize that a fault had occurred, isolate the fault by recognizing that the fault was not to be found in the plant but had to be in the controller itself, and was able to take corrective action. The controller was able to correct this fault, although the type of fault that had occurred was not previously foreseen. This paper outlines the intelligent control architecture, describes the incident, and summarizes the lessons learned.

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Last modified: January 24, 2006 -- © François Cellier