AI in Hypersonic Flight Control (Adaptive RL for Stability & Safety)
AI at Hypersonic Speeds—Stability, Oversight, and Zero-Weapon Focus
Skills you will gain:
About Program:
This 3-day workshop on AI in Hypersonic Flight Control focuses on applying adaptive RL in a safety-first, non-weaponized context. Instead of controller design, it emphasizes hazard analysis, perception and state awareness, V&V planning, governance, and human oversight, guiding participants to build practical artifacts like a requirements matrix, V&V plan, and assurance case for safe high-speed testing.
Aim: To provide a safety-first, non-weaponized framework for using AI and adaptive RL in hypersonic flight control, focusing on governance, assurance, and human oversight rather than controller design.
Program Objectives:
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Frame AI/adaptive RL for hypersonic flight within a safety-first, non-weaponized context.
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Build and document hazards, oversight roles, abort criteria, and geofencing for high-speed test articles.
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Specify perception and state-awareness requirements without exposing sensitive control algorithms.
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Draft a V&V plan, test envelopes, and safety monitors for AI-enabled high-speed systems.
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Outline a safety case and operator SOPs aligned with governance and certification thinking.
What you will learn?
📅 Day 1 – Safety, Ethics & High-Speed Flight Basics (Non-Weaponized)
- Where AI fits in safety-critical aerospace: hazard analysis, “human-on-the-loop,” and oversight.
- High-level aerothermodynamics concepts (no design details): why high speeds amplify uncertainty and sensing challenges.
- Assurance artifacts: requirements traceability, safety cases, and model/system cards.
- Hands-on: Build a policy-aware requirements matrix and hazard log for a benign high-speed test article (e.g., generic aero model) focusing on oversight, abort criteria, and geofencing.
📅 Day 2 – Robust Perception & State Awareness (Conceptual)
- Sensor integrity at high dynamic pressure: fault concepts, latency awareness, and graceful degradation (no algorithms).
- Observability at a glance: what it means to estimate states safely without revealing implementation.
- Validation & test planning: scenario coverage, limits, and transparency for operators and regulators.
- Hands-on: Draft a verification & validation (V&V) plan: define test envelopes, safety monitors, and operator intervention thresholds for a conceptual high-speed vehicle.
📅 Day 3 – Governance, Certification & Human Oversight
- Standards and certification thinking for AI components (conceptual): documentation, audits, incident reporting.
- Envelope thinking without controllers: defining stay-out zones, rate limiters, and conservative defaults.
- Human-machine interfaces: alerting, explainability for operators, and abort workflows.
- Hands-on: Assemble an assurance case outline (safety case) with roles, evidence to collect, and an operator SOP for safe testing and shutdowns.
Mentor Profile
Fee Plan
Get an e-Certificate of Participation!
Intended For :
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Engineers & researchers in aerospace, mechanical, electrical, controls, or related fields
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AI/ML & RL practitioners interested in safety-critical aerospace applications
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Flight test, safety, governance, and certification professionals
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Senior students, faculty, and industry R&D teams working on hypersonic or high-speed systems
Career Supporting Skills
Program Outcomes
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Apply a safety-first, non-weaponized framework for AI/RL in hypersonic flight.
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Create core assurance artifacts: requirements matrix, hazard log, V&V plan, and safety case outline.
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Define safe envelopes, stay-out zones, geofencing, and abort criteria for high-speed tests.
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Design human-on-the-loop oversight with clear alerts, intervention thresholds, and shutdown workflows.
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Navigate governance and certification thinking for AI in sensitive aerospace systems.