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At least 217 records · Page 12

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NASA NTRS1981

The persistence of a visual dominance effect in a telemanipulator task: A comparison between visual and electrotactile feedback

The possibility to use an electrotactile stimulation in teleoperation and to observe the interpretation of such information as a feedback to the operator was investigated. It is proposed that visual feedback is more informative than an electrotactile one; and that complex electrotactile feedback slows down both the motor decision and motor response processes, is processed as an all or nothing signal, and bypasses the receptive structure and accesses directly in a working memory where information is sequentially processed and where memory is limited in treatment capacity. The electrotactile stimulation is used as an alerting signal. It is suggested that the visual dominance effect is the result of the advantage of both a transfer function and a sensory memory register where information is pretreated and memorized for a short time. It is found that dividing attention has an effect on the acquisition of the information but not on the subsequent decision processes.

Gaillard, J. P.↗

NASA NTRS2012

Color Choice is Everything - Impacts Color makes to the Lighting Environment

When contracts are let out to design multiple systems in a vehicle, it is a challenge to maintain integration between system leads. Designers on niche systems, like lighting and control panel design, often get caught up in the challenge of designing the light source or visual interface and fail to include time in their schedule to work with system architects on how their lighting system will be integrated. Additionally, behavioral scientists, industrial designers, and materials engineers get caught up with the materials and look of the system, but often fail to consider how the selection of their materials could affect the certification or performance of electronic devices like lighting systems. Additionally, computer modeling of the system architecture often assumes a perfect environment without the clutter of actual human use (dirt, stowage, crowding). As a result, lighting systems, and backlit displays run the risk of being overdesigned or under designed. Engineers making the assumption that because they have no input or there is no requirement on work surface reflectance, make the assumption that they can t count on good material choices and thus may install more lighting than is necessary. While having more lights may seem better, for a vehicle that is trying to conserve power, more lights may not be a good option. On the other hand, designers who made the opposite assumption and designed a lighting system that only produced just enough light, often wind up with a system that did conserve power, but didn t produce enough light. These situations are exasperated when the system starts to be used and the models are not perfect anymore. The lack of coordination and iterative design not only can impact lighting levels within an environment, but also can affect color perception. This is because, if materials do not represent a gradation of white or black, the material unevenly absorbs and reflects light at different wavelengths of the visual spectrum. The lighting designer may have built a light that meets light spectra requirements, but the eventual light reaching the human user may not be the spectra of light architects intended, if materials near the light source change the spectrum just by how much color is absorbed or reflected. With the recent findings concerning Circadian rhythm, where the spectra of light is extremely important for addressing crew sleep and wake cycles, system architects should pay considerable attention on the impact material choices have in changing the light spectrum in an environment. This presentation will show examples of how material choices impact the resulting illuminance, color spectrum, and power usage of an illuminated space. Its goal is to encourage system designers and planners to use more care in development of requirements and the verification of systems intended for the human visual interface.

Clark, Toni A.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Experiments on identification and control of inflow disturbances in contracting streams

Vorticity from all surfaces and isolated objects in the vicinity of the fan intake, including the outside surfaces of the fan housing, were identified as the major sources for disturbances leading to blade passing frequency noise. The previously proposed mechanism based on atmospheric turbulence is refuted. Flow visualization and hot wire techniques were used in three different facilities to document the evolution of various types of disturbances, including the details of the mean flow and turbulence characteristics. The results suggest that special attention must be devoted to the design of the inlet and that geometric modeling may not lead to adequate simulation of the in flight characteristics. While honeycomb type flow manipulators appear to be effective in reducing some of the disturbances, higher pressure drop devices that generate adequate turbulence, for mixing of isolated nonuniformities, may be necessary to suppress the remaining disturbances. The results are also applicable to the design of inlets of open return wind tunnels and similar flow facilities.

Lee, A. H.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Thermal effects of insolation propagation into the regoliths of airless bodies

The planetary surface thermal models used in the present study are composed of particles which, while bright and optically thin in the visual, are dark and opaque in the thermal IR. It is assumed that insolation is absorbed over a finite regolith distance whose scale length relative to diurnal skin depth for thermal diffusion can be substantial. Attention is given to the lower daytime and higher nighttime temperatures predicted by comparison with models assuming absorption only at the surface. It is noted that, with sufficiently deep penetration of insulation and high thermal IR particle opacity, a solid-state greenhouse can result.

Brown, Robert Hamilton↗

NASA NTRS1997

A review of adaptive change in musculoskeletal impedance during space flight and associated implications for postflight head movement control

We present a review of converging sources of evidence which suggest that the differences between loading histories experienced in 1-g and weightlessness are sufficient to stimulate adaptation in mechanical impedance of the musculoskeletal system. As a consequence of this adaptive change we argue that we should observe changes in the ability to attenuate force transmission through the musculoskeletal system both during and after space flight. By focusing attention on the relation between human sensorimotor activity and support surfaces, the importance of controlling mechanical energy flow through the musculoskeletal system is demonstrated. The implications of such control are discussed in light of visual-vestibular function in the specific context of head and gaze control during postflight locomotion. Evidence from locomotory biomechanics, visual-vestibular function, ergonomic evaluations of human vibration, and specific investigations of locomotion and head and gaze control after space flight, is considered.

Review, Tutorial↗

NASA NTRS2008

Cognitive Assessment of Movement-Based Computer Games

This paper examines the possibility that dance games such as Dance Dance Revolution or StepMania enhance the cognitive abilities that are critical to academic achievement. These games appear to place a high cognitive load on working memory requiring the player to convert a visual signal to a physical movement up to 7 times per second. Players see a pattern of directions displayed on the screen and they memorise these as a dance sequence. Other researchers have found that attention span and memory ability, both cognitive abilities required for academic achievement, are improved through the use of physical movement and exercise. This paper reviews these claims and documents tool development for on-going research by the author.

Kearney, Paul↗

NASA NTRS2022

Rise and Shine: The Use of Polychromatic Short-Wavelength-Enriched Light to Mitigate Sleep Inertia at Night Following Awaking From Slow-Wave Sleep

Sleep inertia is the brief period of performance impairment and reduced alertness experienced after waking, especially from slow-wave sleep. We assessed the efficacy of polychromatic short-wavelength-enriched light to improve vigilant attention, alertness and mood immediately after waking from slow-wave sleep at night. Twelve participants (six female, 23.3 ± 4.2 years) maintained an actigraphy-confirmed sleep schedule of 8.5 hr for 5 nights, and 5 hr for 1 night prior to an overnight laboratory visit. In the laboratory, participants were awakened from slow-wave sleep, and immediately exposed to either dim, red ambient light (control) or polychromatic short-wavelength-enriched light (light) for 1 hr in a randomized crossover design. They completed a 5-min Psychomotor Vigilance Task, the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale, and Visual Analogue Scales of mood at 2, 17, 32 and 47 min after waking. Following this testing period, lights were turned off and participants returned to sleep. They were awakened from their subsequent slow-wave sleep period and received the opposite condition. Compared with the control condition, participants exposed to light had fewer Psychomotor Vigilance Task lapses (χ 2 [1] = 5.285, p = 0.022), reported feeling more alert (Karolinska Sleepiness Scale: F 1,77 = 4.955, p = 0.029; Visual Analogue Scale alert : F 1,77 = 8.226, p = 0.005), and reported improved mood (Visual Analogue Scale cheerful : F 1,77 = 8.615, p = 0.004). There was no significant difference in sleep-onset latency between conditions following the testing period (t 10 = 1.024, p = 0.330). Our results suggest that exposure to polychromatic short-wavelength-enriched light immediately after waking from slow-wave sleep at night may help improve vigilant attention, subjective alertness, and mood. Future studies should explore the potential mechanisms of this countermeasure and its efficacy in real-world environments.

alertness↗

NASA NTRS1978

Definition and detailed characterization of lunar surface units using remote observations

Remote sensing techniques are reviewed in terms of their application to the study of the lunar surface. These techniques include: reflectance spectroscopy (UV and IR), X-ray and gamma-ray analysis, alpha-particle spectroscopy, thermal emission, polarimetry, photography, and visual observation. Each technique is indexed with respect to its usefulness in either describing the appearance and location of a feature, classifying the feature in terms of a broader category, or supplying additional quantitative data. Special attention is given to the mare deposits of the Imbrium basin.

Head, J. W.↗

NASA NTRS1978

NDT of DC-10 graphite-epoxy rudder

The results of visual and ultrasonic nondestructive tests (NDT) on a DC-10 rudder constructed of Thornel 300/5208 graphite-epoxy are presented. A viscous couplant was used for both contact pulse-echo ultrasonics and the Fokker bondtester. Attention is given to the stiffness of cohesive bond structures (the rudder is assembled primarily in a basic six-ply pattern), and to possible delamination. A piezoelectric transducer is employed to sense changes in impedance and signal amplitude. In all, four rudder units were evaluated. The main problems found in the units were porosity and cracking. It is noted that rudder unit four was able to be sufficiently cured to permit static tests on all rib, spar, and skin panel interfaces.

Hagemaier, D. J.↗

NASA NTRS1977

Lunar spectral units - A northern hemispheric mosaic

The distribution of lunar spectral units has been studied with the aid of multispectral imaging using silicon vidicons. The employed method has been developed over the last few years. The lunar observations used in the study had been made on May 7, 1974 (UT) at the Table Mountain Observatory. Four narrow bandpass interference filters centered at 0.38, 0.56, 0.85, and 1.05 micrometers were used. In the data displays presented the large differences (as in visual albedo) between the mare and the uplands have been deliberately minimized to allow small variations between these two major regions to be studied. Most of the spectral units are quite distinct, with relatively sharp boundaries. Attention is given to the general characteristics of spectral units, the distribution of mare basalt types, and the distribution of orange glass and dark mantling material.

Johnson, T. V.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Vortical flow control on a slender body at high angles of attack

Attention is given to the possibility of using tangential blowing to control vortical flow on a missile-like slender body at high angles of attack. Emphasis is placed on smoke- and surface oil-flow visualization, force measurements, and velocity and pressure measurements using a 5-hole probe. It is shown that the tangential blowing significantly alters the flow field downstream of the slot and creates large side forces and yawing moments to very high angles of attack. Effectiveness of the tangential blowing is discussed in terms of jet momentum, blowing location, slot area, and Reynolds number. The concept proved to be efficient at small blowing rates and at high angles of attack.

Celik, Zeki Z.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Time delays in flight simulator visual displays

It is pointed out that the effects of delays of less than 100 msec in visual displays on pilot dynamic response and system performance are of particular interest at this time because improvements in the latest computer-generated imagery (CGI) systems are expected to reduce CGI displays delays to this range. Attention is given to data which quantify the effects of display delays in the range of 0-100 msec on system stability and performance, and pilot dynamic response for a particular choice of aircraft dynamics, display, controller, and task. The conventional control system design methods are reviewed, the pilot response data presented, and data for long delays, all suggest lead filter compensation of display delay. Pilot-aircraft system crossover frequency information guides compensation filter specification.

Crane, D. F.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Soil texture and granulometry at the surface of Mars

Attention is given to a characterization of the physical behavior of the Martian upper surface in its first few decimeters on the basis of mutual relationships between three parameters: the linear polarization of the reflected light, the visual albedo, and the thermal inertia. Polarimetric scans raked a strip covering two contrasting regions, the dark-hued Mare Erythraeum, and the light-hued Thaumasia. Erythraeum is characterized everywhere by a uniform polarization response, despite the large geomorphological diversity of the surface. A ubiquitous coating or mantling with small dark grains of albedo 12.7 percent, with a radius of 10 to 20 microns, is indicated. Thaumasia exhibits a large variety of soil properties. A typical location with albedo of 16.3 percent has a surface covered with orange grains, probably very dispersed in size, for which the largest grains are 20 to 40 microns.

Dollfus, Audouin↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Capturing, Analyzing, Maintaining, and Disseminating Shape Memory Material Data Between Information Management Systems

With an increased demand on reducing the time, cost, and effort to develop new materials, Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME) has received widespread attention in various engineering disciplines as a catalyst for significantly reducing experimental testing during the material design process. An ICME approach to design can enable ‘fit-for-purpose’ materials to be realized in engineering applications by incorporating well-understood process-property-performance relationships between the various length and time scales in a material’s structure, enabling material optimization. However, such an approach requires validated multiscale models at the various length scales for a material, which in turn requires a large amount of data, a robust means of storing the data, and the ability to link data to developed material models. The NASA Vision 2040 [1] has identified nine key elements to enabling ICME approaches in system level design, with one being “Data, Information, and Visualization”, thus outlining the importance of a robust information management system for ICME. As the relationship between microstructure, properties, and material performance become better understood and incorporated into multiscale models that can be leveraged in application design, the emergence of new materials with application-driven properties can be realized. One such new material class that has seen growing attention are shape memory materials (SMM), in which a material can transition between a deformed and undeformed state via a reversible phase transformation when subject to a thermal, mechanical, or magnetic load [2]. SMMs have been used widely in aerospace and biomedical industries, including applications such as actuators, low-shock mechanisms, medical staples, braces, and stents [3, 4]. These materials exhibit unique behavior due to their ability to transition between phases, and thus the mechanisms that enable this transition must be captured in a data information management system and incorporated into SMM material models. At NASA Glenn Research Center, the Shape Memory Materials Database (SMMD) Tool has been developed to capture the necessary information that governs SMM material behavior and provide users the ability to select and visualize various SMMs for a specific application [5]. The database contains point-wise data for published SMM materials, along with the pedigree metadata for traceability necessary for a robust information management system. The database is also capable of storing in-house test data performed at NASA GRC by interacting with the developed Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) Analytics tool to extract the necessary point-wise values and populate the database. Although the SMMD Tool offers its users a single, authoritative source for SMM material data that is critical for model development and material design, the full material pedigree of the in-house test data for SMMs is not currently captured and is out of the scope for the SMMD tool. In this work, the schema for capturing SMM test data within the larger NASA GRC ICME Schema [6, 7, 8, 9] will be developed and implemented for thermomechanical tests conducted at NASA GRC. The developed schema will not only store the relevant data needed for the SMMD tool, but also the material pedigree (i.e., production of the bulk material, bulk material analysis, sample cut-out diagrams, sample fabrication procedure, etc.), test pedigree (i.e., test equipment used, measurement systems used, raw test data), and analysis pedigree (i.e., how the data in the SMMD tool is calculated). Furthermore, a Python-based framework will be developed to seamlessly interact between the SMA Analytics and SMMD tools, which will write the full dataset and associated metadata to the GRC Information Management System before passing the required point-wise data to the SMMD tool. Data informatics is a key element of the NASA Vision 2040, which requires not only that data is stored and maintained throughout the material lifecycle, but that the data is also accessible and reusable such that material development efforts can be minimized. Therefore, for an ICME design approach to be realized, a centralized information management system that drives the ICME process must be able to communicate with other databases. The work that will be presented in this presentation will therefore not only demonstrate the ability of NASA GRC’s information management system to capture SMM data, but also its ability to interact with pre-existing tools specialized for such materials.

Data management↗

NASA NTRS1971

Field-aligned particle currents near an auroral arc.

A Nike-Tomahawk rocket equipped to measure electric and magnetic fields and charged particles from a few eV to several hundred keV energy was flown into an auroral band on April 11, 1970. The purpose of this flight was to obtain evidence of the low-energy electrons and protons that constitute a field-aligned sheet current, and also to obtain the magnetic signature of such a current and the electric field in and near the auroral-arc electric current system. Particular attention was given to a sudden increase in the field-aligned current associated with a prior sudden increase in the electric field and a sudden change in the magnetic field, all occurring near the edge of a visual auroral arc. Data obtained are discussed and analyzed; they present an important contribution to the problem of mapping of atmospheric auroral phenomena to the magnetospheric equatorial plane.

Choy, L. W.↗

NASA NTRS1978

A design for a 1984 Mars rover

A Mars rover is planned for the mid-1980's as a follow-up to the Viking program, and as a prelude to a return-to-earth mission of Martian samples in the late eighties or early nineties. An overall view of the rover's configuration is presented with a summary of basic design parameters. Six subsystems are outlined: computing, with a 10 to the 8th bit bubble memory; mobility, designed for a journey of 100 km in 2 earth years; science sample acquisition, including a soil auger and hard rock drill; power, supplied by an RTG and stored in batteries; telecommunication, with 50 K bit UHF transmission relayed through an orbiter; and visual imaging, employing two television cameras, each with an 800 x 800 pixel charge coupled device. Scientific research goals include information about Martian seismic characteristics, magnetic field, surface heat flow, chemical composition, geology along a transverse, and meteorology. Attention is given to the necessity of rover autonomy from earth commands.

Dobrotin, B. M.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Window of visibility - A psychophysical theory of fidelity in time-sampled visual motion displays

A film of an object in motion presents on the screen a sequence of static views, while the human observer sees the object moving smoothly across the screen. Questions related to the perceptual identity of continuous and stroboscopic displays are examined. Time-sampled moving images are considered along with the contrast distribution of continuous motion, the contrast distribution of stroboscopic motion, the frequency spectrum of continuous motion, the frequency spectrum of stroboscopic motion, the approximation of the limits of human visual sensitivity to spatial and temporal frequencies by a window of visibility, the critical sampling frequency, the contrast distribution of staircase motion and the frequency spectrum of this motion, and the spatial dependence of the critical sampling frequency. Attention is given to apparent motion, models of motion, image recording, and computer-generated imagery.

Watson, A. B.↗

NASA NTRS1991

A re-analysis of the causes of Boeing 727 'black hole landing' crashes

A review is presented of Kraft and Elworth's (1969) investigation and analysis of night visual approaches; their data is reanalyzed, and the reliability of the visual angle hypothesis is discussed. To increase pilot awareness of the hazardous illusions inherent in black hole landings, it was suggested that pilots should monitor their altimeters more often during night approaches. It was also recommended that greater attention should be given to airport design, so that the effects of black hole conditions could be minimized.

Schwirzke, Martin F. J.↗