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Ongoing Since 2025

SyNAPS: Neuro-Symbolic AI for Autonomous Satellites

The SyNAPS project (Symbolic-Neural Autonomy for Planning and Control) brings artificial intelligence safely on board satellites. To do this, it is developing a hybrid neuro-symbolic decision-making framework for resource-constrained space systems.

Glowing blue optical fibres intertwine like nerve pathways into a dense network

Goal: Proactive Mission Autonomy

Artificial intelligence in space

SyNAPS aims to go beyond purely reactive fault handling (Failure Detection, Isolation and Recovery, FDIR) and achieve proactive, goal-oriented mission autonomy.

To achieve this, we combine data-driven edge AI (TinyML) with deterministic expert systems. This allows autonomous decisions based on local knowledge to be made efficiently, safely and traceably.

Focus Areas

Building on previous research, IART is developing a novel system for on-board autonomy. Key areas include:

  • decoupling and optimising neural perception and symbolic reasoning
  • a "Symbolizer" that acts as an intelligent interface, translating high-frequency data from TinyML models into stable, semantically meaningful facts
  • matching system faults against autonomy requirements and the original mission objectives (goal-based decision-making)
  • verification and validation (V&V) of the hybrid architecture for inherently explainable AI through rule tracing
  • building a representative hardware-in-the-loop (HiL) environment with current space-grade microcontrollers
  • sustainable development of robust algorithms for the New Space market

Our aim is to rethink fault handling and decision-making on board satellites, and to show how the power of data-driven pattern recognition can be safely combined with the verifiability of deterministic expert systems.