Prognostic Monitoring and Condition Reporting for Remote Multi-Mission Vehicle (RMMV) Subsystems

As unmanned vehicles (UxVs) become an increasingly integral part of the US Navy, prevention and mitigation of system failures are becoming increasingly critical challenges. Accordingly, during operations, UxVs should be capable of self-monitoring system health, predicting impending faults, and, where possible, notifying remote human operators of fault states. At the same time, operators should have access to data and prognostic models that enable effective conditions-based maintenance and use planning. Metron Inc. will develop a multi-faceted prognostic health solution integrating software systems for condition reporting and fault detection with advanced prognostic modeling. For prognostic modeling, data on failures, degradation, and stressors collected through testing, maintenance, and during operations will be combined with physical and/or empirical models. For fault monitoring, off-board analysis tools will enable visual and quantitative assessments, while on-board processes will monitor internal and external conditions and, where appropriate, generate fault alerts based on automated and/or machine learning-based processes for detecting and predicting fault states. Overall, this UxV health solution will ensure system reliability and availability are maximized, maintenance and repair schedules are optimized, and failures experienced during operations are effectively managed.