Autonomy is a key enabling factor in uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) and advanced
air mobility (AAM) applications ranging from cargo delivery to structure
inspection to passenger transport, across multiple sectors. In addition to
guiding the UAS, autonomy will ensure that they stay safe in a large number of
off-nominal situations without requiring the operator to intervene. While the
addition of autonomy enables the safety case for the overall operation, there is
a question as to how we can assure that the autonomy itself will work as
intended. Specifically, we need assurable technical approaches, operational
considerations, and a framework to develop, test, maintain, and improve these
capabilities.
We make the case that many of the key autonomy functions can be realized in the
near term with readily assurable, even certifiable, design approaches and
assurance methods, combined with risk mitigations and strategically defined
concepts of operations. We present specific autonomy functions common to many
civil beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations and corresponding design
assurance strategies, along with their contributions to an overall safety case.
We provide examples of functions that can be certified under existing standards,
those that will need runtime assurance (RTA) and those that will need to be
qualified with statistical evidence.
