What happens when a robotic space probe breaks down millions of miles away from the nearest spacecraft engineer? If there is a software bug, engineers can sometimes correct the problem by uploading new commands, but what if the computer hardware fails? If the hardware is controlling something critical like the thrusters or communications system, there isn't a lot mission control can do; the mission may be lost. Sometimes failed satellites can be recovered from orbit, but as there's no interplanetary towing service for missions to Mars. Can anything be done for damaged computer systems far from home? The answer might lie in a project called "Scalable Self-Configurable Architecture for Reusable Space Systems". But don't worry, machines aren't becoming self-aware, they're just learning how to fix themselves

using Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) to create self-healing processes at the chip-level

FPGAs use a combination of hardware and software

no human intervention

captivating research