Levels of Autonomy and Autonomous System Performance Assessment for Intelligent Unmanned Systems

Abstract

This report provides an overview of the current state of autonomous system testing and evaluation methodologies and levels of autonomy for intelligent unmanned systems (UMSs).It is meant to be an extensive review of all past and ongoing efforts to define autonomy and set levels of autonomy for unmanned systems as related to military applications.Presented within are the current performance metrics for autonomous systems, the current standards that have been adopted for autonomous systems, and the leading frameworks for assessing levels of autonomy and autonomous mission performance.Currently, no one framework for defining UMS autonomy level has been adopted by the robotics community.This report summarizes the current research in this area and provides recommendations on the steps required to adequately define autonomy and autonomous mission performance.