Every mission begins with a plan.
A route.
A sequence.
A set of steps mapped from here to there.
But the world does not obey the plan.
A sensor goes dark.
A motor weakens.
A path becomes blocked.
And so the question becomes:
Can your system still complete the mission—when the plan is broken?
This is the task of the Fault Tolerant Planner.
It doesn’t just chart the way forward.
It anticipates what might go wrong,
and prepares paths that bend, reconfigure, and adapt
without breaking the mission,
or the system.
What Is a Fault Tolerant Planner?
A fault tolerant planner is an intelligent subsystem that integrates mission planning with resilience.
Its goal is not just to find an optimal path or schedule—
but to ensure the system can detect, isolate, and adapt to faults while continuing the mission as safely and effectively as possible.
It is predictive, reactive, and adaptive.
Faults may include:
– Actuator loss or degradation
– Sensor failure or drift
– Loss of communication
– Power limitations
– Unexpected environmental conditions
A fault tolerant planner doesn’t just recognize failure—
it rewrites the mission in real time to continue under new constraints.
Core Capabilities
- Health-Aware Planning
Incorporates system health status into mission planning.
Plans are generated with an understanding of what the system can currently do. - Failure Modeling and Prediction
Uses models to anticipate likely fault modes.
Plans include contingencies or backup options before faults occur. - Replanning on Fault Detection
Upon detecting a fault, it triggers partial or full mission replanning, using the new system state and limitations. - Degraded Mode Operation
Adjusts objectives, path complexity, or energy usage to operate safely under reduced capability. - Resource-Aware Scheduling
Prioritizes critical goals when time, energy, or functionality becomes limited.
Where It Matters
– Autonomous drones: rerouting when a propeller fails, or switching to gliding when battery levels drop unexpectedly
– Planetary rovers: completing scientific objectives after wheel damage or power constraints
– Underwater vehicles: navigating back to base when sonar or inertial guidance is partially lost
– Swarm coordination: reassigning roles when one node drops from the network
– Medical or logistics robotics: continuing operations with one arm or sensor cluster offline
Why It’s Powerful
A fault tolerant planner doesn’t assume perfection.
It assumes reality.
And in doing so, it:
– Extends mission success rates
– Increases autonomy in uncertain environments
– Reduces the need for human intervention
– Builds trust in autonomous systems for critical tasks
– Prepares for failure—so it never becomes final
Why It Still Matters
Most planners are brilliant—when everything goes right.
But the most useful planner is the one that keeps going when something goes wrong.
It doesn’t panic.
It doesn’t stall.
It steps back, evaluates what’s left,
and replans not just to survive,
but to succeed under new constraints.
Because in real autonomy, the mission never unfolds exactly as designed.
But with a fault tolerant planner onboard,
the mission still unfolds.