@article{GENERAL,
      recid = {7645},
      author = {Thomas, Hannah and Parkin, Emma},
      title = {Consciousness in Autonomous Systems},
      journal = {Conference Proceedings of INEC},
      address = {2020-10-05},
      number = {GENERAL},
      abstract = {Standards of artificial intelligence have evolved rapidly  with technology over time and today autonomous<br>
systems  are expected to collaborate in more and more complex  environments, such as in the field of Autonomous Surface  Vehicles (ASVs). ASVs have a requirement to operate safely  in dynamically changing surroundings and interact with  humans. This requires a certain level of consciousness. For  the purpose of this paper, consciousness is defined as  'the state of being aware of and responsive to  one's surroundings'. In order to obtain  consciousness, an autonomous system must climb the  knowledge pyramid of data science in real time. That is to  say it must:<br>
- Ingest (potentially huge amounts of)  data from diverse sources which may contain different types  of<br>
information in different formats.<br>
- Convert each  set of data into useful information about the surrounding  environment and filter out noise.<br>
- Combine this data  to generate situational awareness.<br>
- Convert this  situational awareness into wisdom to evaluate the best  course of action.<br>
With over 20 years’ L3Harris  Technologies, Inc. understands the human-machine  relationship intimately. With over 2000 days of on water  testing the team has experienced first-hand how readily  operators trust machines, as can be seen all around in  everyday life. It is imperative to match this trust with  trust-worthiness and in autonomous systems, this can only  be achieved with consciousness. L3Harris’ autonomous  control system, has been tested in a range of environments:  missions have been conducted in daytime and night time,  calm and rough seas, open water locations and busy ports  with dense traffic. Each setting poses its own challenges,  and autonomous systems are required to be consistently  reliable. Recent advancements in technology have increased  the level of consciousness achievable in systems operating  today. This paper discusses the evolution of technology  that has made increasing levels of consciousness achievable  today and the implications on human-machine interaction,  drawing on examples from L3Harris’ experience.},
      url = {http://library.imarest.org/record/7645},
}