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NASA NTRS1985

Observations from a prototype implementation of the Common APSE Interface Set (CAIS)

This paper presents an overview of the Common Ada Programming Support Environment (APSE) Interface Set (CAIS), its purpose, and its history. The paper describes an internal research and development effort at the Mitre Corporation to implement a prototype version of the current CAIS specification and to rehost existing Ada software development tools onto the CAIS prototype. Based on this effort, observations are made on the maturity and functionality of the CAIS. These observations support the government's current policy of publicizing the CAIS specification as a baseline for public review in support of its evolution into a standard which can be mandated for use as Ada is today.

Mcclimens, M.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Space motion sickness preflight adaptation training Preliminary studies with prototype trainers

Based on the otolith tilt-translation reinterpretation hypothesis (Parker et al., 1985), preflight adaptation procedures and several preflight adaptation trainers (PATs) have been developed. Two PAT prototypes, the Miami University Seesaw (MUS) and the Dynamic Environmental Simulator (DES), include a physical room that is moved relative to the restrained subject. Results from the MUS and DES PAT experiments indicate that exposure to the produced sensory rearrangement can change eye movement reflexes. The changes persisted for a period longer than the training exposure period, indicating similarity with the eye-movement reflexes observed immediately postflight in weightlessness-adapted astronauts. It is concluded that the apparatus and procedures to preadapt astronauts to the sensory rearrangement of weightless space flight can be developed on the basis of the reported PATs and procedures. The third PAT prototype tested, which employs a computer-generated scene, failed to produce changes similar to those recorded in the MUS and DES experiments.

Parker, D. E.↗

NASA NTRS1985

A prototype space flight intravenous injection system

Medical emergencies, especially those resulting from accidents, frequently require the administration of intravenous fluids to replace lost body liquids. The development of a prototype space flight intravenous injection system is presented. The definition of requirements, injectable concentrates development, water polisher, reconstitution hardware development, administration hardware development, and prototype fabrication and testing are discussed.

Colombo, G. V.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Rapid prototyping facility for flight research in artificial-intelligence-based flight systems concepts

The Dryden Flight Research Facility of the NASA Ames Research Facility of the NASA Ames Research Center is developing a rapid prototyping facility for flight research in flight systems concepts that are based on artificial intelligence (AI). The facility will include real-time high-fidelity aircraft simulators, conventional and symbolic processors, and a high-performance research aircraft specially modified to accept commands from the ground-based AI computers. This facility is being developed as part of the NASA-DARPA automated wingman program. This document discusses the need for flight research and for a national flight research facility for the rapid prototyping of AI-based avionics systems and the NASA response to those needs.

Duke, E. L.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Numerical aerodynamic simulation program long haul communications prototype

This document is a report of the Numerical Aerodynamic Simulation (NAS) Long Haul Communications Prototype (LHCP). It describes the accomplishments of the LHCP group, presents the results from all LHCP experiments and testing activities, makes recommendations for present and future LHCP activities, and evaluates the remote workstation accesses from Langley Research Center, Lewis Research Center, and Colorado State University to Ames Research Center. The report is the final effort of the Long Haul (Wideband) Communications Prototype Plan (PT-1133-02-N00), 3 October 1985, which defined the requirements for the development, test, and operation of the LHCP network and was the plan used to evaluate the remote user bandwidth requirements for the Numerical Aerodynamic Simulation Processing System Network.

Cmaylo, Bohden K.↗

NASA NTRS1986

A prototype expert system in OPS5 for data error detection

A prototype expert system has been developed in the OPS5 language to perform error checking on data which spacecraft builders/users supply to the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center for processing on the Communications Link Analysis and Simulation System (CLASS) computer. This prototype expert system, called Trajectory Preprocessing System (TRAPS), contains 49 rules. In its operational phase, TRAPS will run in the Oak Ridge Production Language (ORPL) on the CLASS computer. ORPL, an implementation of OPS5 in MULTIFORTH on a desktop computer, is now being ported to SS-FORTH on the CLASS computer. This paper discusses the expert system problem domain, development approch, tools, results, and future plans stemming from the TRAPS project.

Rash, James↗

NASA NTRS1987

Rapid prototyping and AI programming environments applied to payload modeling

This effort focused on using artificial intelligence (AI) programming environments and rapid prototyping to aid in both space flight manned and unmanned payload simulation and training. Significant problems addressed are the large amount of development time required to design and implement just one of these payload simulations and the relative inflexibility of the resulting model to accepting future modification. Results of this effort have suggested that both rapid prototyping and AI programming environments can significantly reduce development time and cost when applied to the domain of payload modeling for crew training. The techniques employed are applicable to a variety of domains where models or simulations are required.

Carnahan, Richard S., Jr.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Prototype resupply scheduler

Resupply scheduling for the Space Station presents some formidable logistics problems. One of the most basic problems is assigning supplies to a series of shuttle resupply missions. A prototype logistics expert system which constructs resupply schedules was developed. This prototype is able to reconstruct feasible resupply plans. In addition, analysts can use the system to evaluate the impact of adding, deleting or modifying launches, cargo space, experiments, etc.

Tanner, Steve↗

NASA NTRS1988

The use of an automated flight test management system in the development of a rapid-prototyping flight research facility

An automated flight test management system (ATMS) and its use to develop a rapid-prototyping flight research facility for artificial intelligence (AI) based flight systems concepts are described. The ATMS provides a flight test engineer with a set of tools that assist in flight planning and simulation. This system will be capable of controlling an aircraft during the flight test by performing closed-loop guidance functions, range management, and maneuver-quality monitoring. The rapid-prototyping flight research facility is being developed at the Dryden Flight Research Facility of the NASA Ames Research Center (Ames-Dryden) to provide early flight assessment of emerging AI technology. The facility is being developed as one element of the aircraft automation program which focuses on the qualification and validation of embedded real-time AI-based systems.

Duke, Eugene L.↗

NASA NTRS1987

A prototype 4800 bps voice terminal for the mobile satellite experiment

The authors report the final stage of a research project for the NASA mobile satellite experiment (MSAT-X). The work has resulted in two alternative coding techniques which have achieved good communications quality at 4.8 kb/s while tolerating vehicle noise, fading, and a fairly high-error-rate, bursty channel. The authors have constructed a circuit board based on three AT&T 32-bit floating-point DSP32 digital signal processors (DSP) and providing both excess processing power and considerable flexibility for handling different variations of the algorithms. A Motorola 68HC11 microcomputer chip serves as the board controller and interface handler. Mounted on a wirewrapped card, the prototype's circuit footprint amounts to only 225 cm2 and consumes about 13 W of power. A description is given of the architecture, signal processing and communication functions, circuitry, and firmware of the prototype. Issues such as synchronization, framing, error control, and modem interface are also addressed.

Chan, Wai-Yip↗

NASA NTRS1989

STRUTEX: A prototype knowledge-based system for initially configuring a structure to support point loads in two dimensions

Only recently have engineers begun making use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools in the area of conceptual design. To continue filling this void in the design process, a prototype knowledge-based system, called STRUTEX has been developed to initially configure a structure to support point loads in two dimensions. This prototype was developed for testing the application of AI tools to conceptual design as opposed to being a testbed for new methods for improving structural analysis and optimization. This system combines numerical and symbolic processing by the computer with interactive problem solving aided by the vision of the user. How the system is constructed to interact with the user is described. Of special interest is the information flow between the knowledge base and the data base under control of the algorithmic main program. Examples of computed and refined structures are presented during the explanation of the system.

Robers, James L.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Expert system development methodology and the transition from prototyping to operations: FIESTA, a case study

A major barrier in taking expert systems from prototype to operational status involves instilling end user confidence in the operational system. The software of different life cycle models is examined and the advantages and disadvantages of each when applied to expert system development are explored. The Fault Isolation Expert System for Tracking and data relay satellite system Applications (FIESTA) is presented as a case study of development of an expert system. The end user confidence necessary for operational use of this system is accentuated by the fact that it will handle real-time data in a secure environment, allowing little tolerance for errors. How FIESTA is dealing with transition problems as it moves from an off-line standalone prototype to an on-line real-time system is discussed.

Happell, Nadine↗

NASA NTRS1989

A rapid prototyping facility for flight research in advanced systems concepts

Duke, Eugene L.↗

NASA NTRS1990

OMS FDIR: Initial prototyping

The Space Station Freedom Program (SSFP) Operations Management System (OMS) will automate major management functions which coordinate the operations of onboard systems, elements and payloads. The objectives of OMS are to improve safety, reliability and productivity while reducing maintenance and operations cost. This will be accomplished by using advanced automation techniques to automate much of the activity currently performed by the flight crew and ground personnel. OMS requirements have been organized into five task groups: (1) Planning, Execution and Replanning; (2) Data Gathering, Preprocessing and Storage; (3) Testing and Training; (4) Resource Management; and (5) Caution and Warning and Fault Management for onboard subsystems. The scope of this prototyping effort falls within the Fault Management requirements group. The prototyping will be performed in two phases. Phase 1 is the development of an onboard communications network fault detection, isolation, and reconfiguration (FDIR) system. Phase 2 will incorporate global FDIR for onboard systems. Research into the applicability of expert systems, object-oriented programming, fuzzy sets, neural networks and other advanced techniques will be conducted. The goals and technical approach for this new SSFP research project are discussed here.

Taylor, Eric W.↗

NASA NTRS1990

An application generator for rapid prototyping of Ada real-time control software

The need to increase engineering productivity and decrease software life cycle costs in real-time system development establishes a motivation for a method of rapid prototyping. The design by iterative rapid prototyping technique is described. A tool which facilitates such a design methodology for the generation of embedded control software is described.

Johnson, Jim↗

NASA NTRS1989

Expert system development methodology and the transition from prototyping to operations - Fiesta, a case study

Happell, Nadine↗

NASA NTRS1989

Design, fabrication and test of a prototype double gimbal control moment gyroscope for the NASA Space Station

Recognizing the need to develop future technologies in support of the Space Station, NASA's Advanced Development Program (ADP) placed as its goal the design and fabrication of a prototype 4750 Newton-meter-second (3500 ft-lb-sec) Control Moment Gyroscope (CMG). The CMG uses the principle of momentum exchange to impart control torques for counteracting vehicle disturbances. This paper addresses the selection of the double gimbal CMG over the single gimbal and describes the major subassemblies of the prototype design. Particular attention is given to the choice of the materials, fabrication and design details dictated by the man-rated mission requirement. Physical characteristics and the results of functional testing are presented to demonstrate the level of system performance obtained. Comparisons are made of the measured system responses against design goals and predictions generated by computer simulation.

Blondin, Joseph↗

NASA NTRS1989

Prototype architecture for a VLSI level zero processing system

The prototype architecture and implementation of a high-speed level zero processing (LZP) system are discussed. Due to the new processing algorithm and VLSI technology, the prototype LZP system features compact size, low cost, high processing throughput, and easy maintainability and increased reliability. Though extensive control functions have been done by hardware, the programmability of processing tasks makes it possible to adapt the system to different data formats and processing requirements. It is noted that the LZP system can handle up to 8 virtual channels and 24 sources with combined data volume of 15 Gbytes per orbit. For greater demands, multiple LZP systems can be configured in parallel, each called a processing channel and assigned a subset of virtual channels. The telemetry data stream will be steered into different processing channels in accordance with their virtual channel IDs. This super system can cope with a virtually unlimited number of virtual channels and sources. In the near future, it is expected that new disk farms with data rate exceeding 150 Mbps will be available from commercial vendors due to the advance in disk drive technology.

Shi, Jianfei↗