To extend the limited scope of autonomy used in prior missions for operation in distant and complex environments, there is a need to further develop and mature autonomy that jointly reasons over multiple subsystems, which we term system-level autonomy. System-level autonomy establishes situational awareness that resolves conflicting information across subsystems, which may necessitate the refinement and interconnection of the underlying spacecraft and environment onboard models. However, with a limited understanding of the assumptions and tradeoffs of modeling to arbitrary extents, designing onboard models to support system-level capabilities presents a significant challenge. In this paper, we provide a detailed analysis of the increasing levels of model fidelity for several key spacecraft subsystems, with the goal of informing future spacecraft functional- and system-level autonomy algorithms and the physics-based simulators on which they are validated. We do not argue for the adoption of a particular fidelity class of models but, instead, highlight the potential tradeoffs and opportunities associated with the use of models for onboard autonomy and in physics-based simulators at various fidelity levels. We ground our analysis in the context of deep space exploration of small bodies, an emerging frontier for autonomous spacecraft operation in space, where the choice of models employed onboard the spacecraft may determine mission success. We conduct our experiments in the Multi-Spacecraft Concept and Autonomy Tool (MuSCAT), a software suite for developing spacecraft autonomy algorithms.

Maamar Ali Saud Al Tobi, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor and Deputy Head of the Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department at the National University of Science and Technology, Muscat, Oman. His teaching and research areas include machine condition monitoring, vibration analysis, artificial intelligence, genetic algorithm, and maintenance management and strategies. He is author of numerous papers in international journals on fault diagnosis in rotating machinery using AI systems. Geraint Bevan, Ph.D., is Senior Lecturer in Applied Instrumentation and Control at the School of Computing, Engineering and Built Environment at Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow, Scotland. He is widely published on bond-graph modeling for control system design, design of automotive control systems, monitoring for nuclear safeguards, machine condition monitoring, and renewable energy.

Driving safety analysis has recently witnessed unprecedented results due to advances in computation frameworks, connected vehicle technology, new generation sensors, and artificial intelligence (AI). Particularly, the recent advances performance of deep learning (DL) methods realized higher levels of safety for autonomous vehicles and empowered volume imagery processing for driving safety analysis. An important application of DL methods is extracting driving safety metrics from traffic imagery. However, the majority of current methods use safety metrics for micro-scale analysis of individual crash incidents or near-crash events, which does not provide insightful guidelines for the overall network-level traffic management. On the other hand, large-scale safety assessment efforts mainly emphasize spatial and temporal distributions of crashes, while not always revealing the safety violations that cause crashes. To bridge these two perspectives, we define a new set of network-level safety metrics for the overall safety assessment of traffic flow by processing imagery taken by roadside infrastructure sensors. An integrative analysis of the safety metrics and crash data reveals the insightful temporal and spatial correlation between the representative network-level safety metrics and the crash frequency. The analysis is performed using two video cameras in the state of Arizona along with a 5-year crash report obtained from the Arizona Department of Transportation. The results confirm that network-level safety metrics can be used by the traffic management teams to equip traffic monitoring systems with advanced AI-based risk analysis, and timely traffic flow control decisions.

Muscat: A field visit for the Steering Committee team, in charge of supervising the zone designated for artificial intelligence (AI) at Duqm was organised by the Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones (OPAZ). The steering committee includes representatives from several government entities, namely the Ministry of Defence, the Royal Oman Police (ROP), the Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation, the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology, and Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (TRA). This came after the recent announcement of the OPAZ, allocating an area of 18 square kilometres of land to support and encourage the use of modern techniques, including AI experiments in the Special Economic Zone at Duqm (Sezad). "The Authority is seeking to achieve several key objectives, most importantly, the localisation of investment opportunities in the field of artificial intelligence, drone experiments and future technology," Ahmed bin Saleh Al Farsi, Chairman of the Committee, said. "In addition to building basic infrastructure to apply e-government strategy and smart cities, the Authority will also be creating and implementing research opportunities in the zone under the supervision of the committee for practical and academic uses, and to overcome the challenges and difficulties facing the implementation of AI projects, drones and future technology in the zone," he added.

Muscat: The Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology has issued a ministerial circular on using artificial intelligence systems for units of the state's administrative apparatus. "The Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology issued a ministerial circular regarding the policy of using artificial intelligence systems for the units of the state's administrative apparatus, as part of the ministry's endeavour to provide support development of innovative solutions in all the economic sectors, keep pace with progress in the Fourth Industrial Revolution and achieve the goals of Oman Vision 2040," Oman News Agency (ONA) said in a statement. "This policy includes six ethical principles: comprehensiveness, humanity, responsibility, justice, transparency and safety that will enhance confidence in modern technologies, and provide requirements for the governance of artificial intelligence systems." "The policy aims to help the units of the state's administrative apparatus to build national capacities in various fields of artificial intelligence by enhancing its use in all vital economic sectors, and prepare a set of ethical principles to ensure the accuracy and safety of automated decision-making processes keeping global practices in mind," ONA added.

The document, called'Malta the Ultimate AI Launchpad: A Strategy and Vision for Artificial Intelligence in Malta 2030', aims to ensure that benefits brought about by this next wave of innovation delivers benefits across all segments of Maltese society. Speaking at the Summit, Muscat highlighted that this year's summit doubled in size, from 4,500 people registering last year, to 10,000 this year. "This summit is one of the best opportunities for Malta to showcase our progress, our achievements and our dedication in areas of emerging technology to the world," Muscat said. "We made great strides compared to other countries as we were ambitious in our initiatives." He said other jurisdictions were sometimes reluctant to regulate tech, like Blockchain, unlike Malta.

The government has launched the National AI strategy today, with Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and Parliamentary Secretary for the Digital Economy Silvio Schembri both delivering speeches during the Delta Summit. The document, called'Malta the Ultimate AI Launchpad: A Strategy and Vision for Artificial Intelligence in Malta 2030', aims to ensure that benefits brought about by this next wave of innovation delivers benefits across all segments of Maltese society. Speaking at the Summit, Muscat highlighted that this year's summit doubled in size, from 4,500 people registering last year, to 10,000 this year. "This summit is one of the best opportunities for Malta to showcase our progress, our achievements and our dedication in areas of emerging technology to the world," Muscat said. "We made great strides compared to other countries as we were ambitious in our initiatives."

Recently at the Delta Summit, the Prime Minister of Malta, Joseph Muscat spoke about the blockchain technology and the need for governments to understand the need for regulation. He also mentioned that Artificial Intelligence and best-in-class regulatory framework were the areas that were next in focus for the Malta government. The Prime Minister stated that the Artificial Intelligence technology can be beneficial to the blockchain industry. "We are sure that with AI we can replicate and improve what we are doing now here with blockchain." Joseph stated that they were moving away from a business model based on "decentralization of data."

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Maltese counterpart Joseph Muscat agreed Wednesday to closely cooperate in maintaining maritime order based on the rule of law. In a news conference after their meeting in Tokyo, Abe said the two leaders confirmed the importance of the issue. Malta is the home of the International Maritime Law Institute aimed at training specialists in the field. Abe said they also agreed to work together in resolving outstanding issues surrounding North Korea, including Japanese nationals abducted by Pyongyang in the 1970s and 1980s. On the economic front, Muscat, the first Maltese prime minister to visit Japan in 28 years, expressed hope for an early implementation of a free trade agreement Japan and the European Union signed last month.

Muscat: The very first consultancy service that makes use of artificial intelligence (AI) was launched in Oman on Tuesday. The company, Impact Integrated, was inaugurated by Oman LNG Foundation CEO, Sheikh Khalid Al Massan. Impact Integrated founder and managing director (MD), Khalid Alhraithi claimed that it was a first of its kind venture in Middle East and North Africa (Mena). He said that the firm was an innovation radar that helps nurture said innovations. He added that name of the device they use for the purpose is Salalah 10 X.