MAE Seminar – Safe Autonomy for Aerospace and Vehicle Systems

Details

Dear Undergraduate and Graduate Students, Faculty, and Staff,
You are invited! UF Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering’s Seminar Series
This is a perfect opportunity to enjoy some coffee, cookies, and captivating talks! These sessions feature amazing guest speakers, from academic trailblazers and industry movers to our very own faculty candidates showing off their expertise and fresh perspectives.
Come for the treats, stay for the engaging discussions, and connect with fellow MAE enthusiasts. Everyone is welcome!

Safe Autonomy for Aerospace and Vehicle Systems

October 2, 2025, at 12:50pm
Location: MAE-A 303

Dr. Anouck Girard
Professor & Department Chair of Aerospace Engineering
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Abstract
Ensuring safety in aerospace systems and autonomous vehicles often hinges on effective management of constraints. For instance, a satellite operates under constraints such as orbital position and angular pointing accuracy as well as available electrical power and communication bandwidth, along with actuator range and rate limits. The algorithmic and software complexity required for limit protection systems can surpass that of the original control system. Complexity increases with growing vehicle integration as limits in the trajectory, propulsion, electrical power and heating subsystems may need to be simultaneously handled. Another source of difficulty is that some elements in the control system may involve humans or be specified as neural networks. For example, human driven vehicles may operate in the environment, and sensing using cameras for situational awareness often includes neural networks for classification of objects. The talk will survey several constrained control methods that enable safe autonomy and mitigate the presence of humans or AI in control loops. The potential for these methods in aerospace applications and self-driving cars will be highlighted.

Biography
Anouck Girard earned her Ph.D. degree in Ocean Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, in 2002. She was with the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, from 2006 to 2025, where she was a Professor of Robotics and Aerospace Engineering. She was named an Arthur F. Thurnau Professor at the University of Michigan in 2024, in recognition of her outstanding contributions to undergraduate education. Since June 2025, she is a Professor and the Department Chair for Aerospace Engineering at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, FL, USA. She has co-authored the book Fundamentals of Aerospace Navigation and Guidance (Cambridge University Press, 2014). Her current research interests include vehicle dynamics and control, decision systems, and examining the effects of both humans and AI in control loops.

MAE Faculty Host: Dr. Amor Menezes