{"stable_id":"000d0bb757d8a7ce","slug":"nasa-st5-antenna","company":"NASA","workflow_name":"ST5 Evolved Antenna (Computer-Automated Design)","function_code":"engineering","pattern_codes":["creator_to_judge"],"changed_assumption":"Antenna design requires significant human domain expertise and manual iterative design.","evidence_strength":"verified","publication_tier":"showcase","freshness":"current","reviewed_at":"2026-08-23","updated_at":"2026-08-22","source_quality_summary":"1 primary; publication outcomes are verified.","caveat_summary":"No additional attribution caveat published. Compared two hand-designed QHAs against two evolved antennas.","freshness_caveat":null,"workflow_summary":{"before":[{"actor":"Antenna Designer","action":"Manually design antenna (e.g., quadrifilar helix) based on mission requirements","actor_type":"control"},{"actor":"Test Engineer","action":"Fabricate and test antenna in anechoic chamber","actor_type":"human"}],"hinge":"Antenna design requires significant human domain expertise and manual iterative design.","after":[{"actor":"Human Engineer","action":"Define fitness function and mission constraints","actor_type":"human"},{"actor":"Evolutionary Algorithm","action":"Search design space and automatically produce novel antenna designs","actor_type":"ai"},{"actor":"Test Engineer","action":"Fabricate and physically test the evolved antenna for compliance","actor_type":"human"}],"decision_mode":"shared","decision_marker":"Human moves from creator to judge"},"before":[{"order":1,"actor":"Antenna Designer","action":"Manually design antenna (e.g., quadrifilar helix) based on mission requirements","handoff_to":"Test Engineer","control":"Not published."},{"order":2,"actor":"Test Engineer","action":"Fabricate and test antenna in anechoic chamber","handoff_to":"","control":"Physical testing"}],"after":[{"order":1,"actor":"Human Engineer","action":"Define fitness function and mission constraints","handoff_to":"Evolutionary Algorithm","control":"Not published."},{"order":2,"actor":"Evolutionary Algorithm","action":"Search design space and automatically produce novel antenna designs","handoff_to":"Test Engineer","control":"Not published."},{"order":3,"actor":"Test Engineer","action":"Fabricate and physically test the evolved antenna for compliance","handoff_to":"","control":"Anechoic chamber testing for final approval"}],"decision_rights":"Algorithm generates the design; human engineers retain authority to confirm compliance via physical testing.","exception_path":"If requirements change, engineers adjust the fitness function and re-evolve the design.","removed_work":["Manual iterative calculation of electromagnetic interactions"],"outcomes":[{"metric":"Design turnaround time (re-design)","baseline":"Time and labor intensive","result":"Less than one month","period":"ST5 mission adjustment phase","scale":"One antenna re-design","attribution_caveat":"No additional attribution caveat published.","evidence_label":"verified"},{"metric":"Antenna efficiency (dual mounted)","baseline":"38%","result":"93%","period":"Pre-launch testing","scale":"Two antennas mounted on spacecraft","attribution_caveat":"Compared two hand-designed QHAs against two evolved antennas.","evidence_label":"verified"}],"executive_lesson":"Shifting humans from designing solutions to designing constraints enables computational optimization to exceed human benchmarks.","anti_pattern":"Assuming evolutionary computation is out of scope for AI cataloging (Editorial flag raised).","questions_for_leaders":["Where in our R&D could we specify requirements and let AI search the design space?"],"collections":[],"bundle_version":"1.0.0","bundle_fingerprint":"sha256:c23c6cc2b88153d008ea8fda928f632ce0011fc2d4c5036672a16e5d895bab93","canonical_url":"https://brianletort.ai/transformations/nasa-st5-antenna"}