EASA and artificial intelligence specialist Daedalean have completed a 10-month study to pave the way for machine learning and neural network technology to be employed in safety-critical aviation applications. Findings in the just-published Concepts of Design Assurance for Neural Networks (CoDANN II) report, combined with last year's first-phase CoDANN study, were part of the proposed guidance for Level 1 machine learning applications that the European safety agency released for public consultation in April.
Level 1 applications cover the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning technology to assist humans in operating aircraft. More advanced Level 2 and 3 applications cover, respectively, human/machine collaboration and the so-called more autonomous machine. Under Level 2, either the human would perform a function and have it monitored by the machine or vice versa. Under Level 3, a machine would perform functions with no human intervention in operations, but there would still be human involvement for design and oversight functions.
