25033 – City of Requirements to Verify requirements to conform to ISO/IEC/IEEE 29148:2018

City of Requirements to Verify requirements to conform to ISO/IEC/IEEE 29148:2018

Robotics and Automation

Problem Statement:

Robotics and automation enhance precision, reduce turnaround time, and minimize human error in MRO operations. But these benefits hinge on well-formed system requirements. Poorly specified, unverifiable, or inconsistent requirements lead to failures.

The 2021 Tesla Gigafactory accident, where a robot pinned an engineer due to software and safety requirement gaps, and 77 robot-related accidents (2015-2022) in the USA involving stationary robots, highlight the need for robust requirement verification and traceability.

The ISO/IEC/IEEE 29148:2018 standard prescribes:

1. Requirement allocation across system levels to ensure correct responsibility.
2. Traceability between requirement artifacts.
3. Verification of requirements for validation and testing.

In complex robotics systems, managing these aspects leads to cognitive overload and oversight risks, impacting safety, maintainability, and readiness.

Innovation Solution:

We present ReqCity++, a tool for verifying, managing, and visualizing robotic system requirements per ISO 29148. Powered by Generative AI, natural language processing (NLP), and Graph Theory, it automates:

• Processing requirement specifications
• Requirement conformance checks (14 ISO characteristics via 42 INCOSE rules).
• Requirement trees to verify allocation.
• Requirement traceability.

An interactive 3D city metaphor visualizes requirements as buildings—shape, color, and layout/links reflect quality, structure, and traceability. Engineers intuitively explore verification status, locate poor requirements, and assess traceability. Its modular, scalable architecture ensures seamless integration with existing DoD MRO workflows, supporting large-scale automation systems.

Benefits to the DoD:

• Enhances precision, safety, and reliability with user-friendly verification and traceability
• Improves efficiency: Reduced verification time by 29% and increased accuracy by 9%.
• Supports cross-service applicability across air, land, and naval platforms
• Facilitates workforce transition and training with a visual interface
• Ensures compliance with ISO 29148 and DoD data governance.
• Reduces costs and risks by catching requirement issues early, minimizing rework and failures.

Innovation Challenges:

ReqCity++ addresses core challenges by:

• Seamless integration with MRO workflows via flexible APIs
• Automating ISO 29148 conformance to prevent oversights to quality and traceability
• Simplifying workforce adaptation with an intuitive city-based visualization

Technical Maturity:

ReqCity++ is at Technology Readiness Level 6-7, validated in operational environments. Demonstrated on the New York City Connected Vehicle Pilot Deployment (a large-scale automation program), ReqCity++ achieved 9% higher verification accuracy and 29% faster analysis. Its scalable, modular design supports safe, efficient, and standards-compliant deployment of robotics and automation in DoD maintenance activities.