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At least 235 records · Page 13

The motion of the earth-moon system in modern tabular ephemerides. II - Inertial motion, mean longitude of the sun, and general precession in longitude

Properties of astronomical time scales (ET and UT) are considered, with particular emphasis on correctly determining of-date longitude as the sum of inertial mean longitude of the sun relative to the mean equinox of a fixed epoch (1950.0), and the general precession in longitude accumulated since the epoch. The inertial mean longitude and motion (relative to the mean equinox) are derived from tabular ephemerides such as the Jet Propulsion Laboratories' DE 102 and DE 96, by comparisons with subroutines based on Newcomb's perturbation theory. An unresolved inconsistency of approximately 1 second per century among the mean inertial motion of DE 102, IAU precession speed (1976), and the classical Newcomb of-date mean motion is found. Interpretation difficulties arising from the use of different systems of Ephemeris Time are also discussed.

Stumpff, P.↗

Equations of motion of slung load systems with results for dual lift

General simulation equations are derived for the rigid body motion of slung load systems. These systems are viewed as consisting of several rigid bodies connected by straight-line cables or links. The suspension can be assumed to be elastic or inelastic, both cases being of interest in simulation and control studies. Equations for the general system are obtained via D'Alembert's principle and the introduction of generalized velocity coordinates. Three forms are obtained. Two of these generalize previous case-specific results for single helicopter systems with elastic or inelastic suspensions. The third is a new formulation for inelastic suspensions. It is derived from the elastic suspension equations by choosing the generalized coordinates so as to separate motion due to cable stretching from motion with invariant cable lengths. The result is computationally more efficient than the conventional formulation, and is readily integrated with the elastic suspension formulation and readily applied to the complex dual lift and multilift systems. Equations are derived for dual lift systems. Three proposed suspension arrangements can be integrated in a single equation set. The equations are given in terms of the natural vectors and matrices of three-dimensional rigid body mechanics and are tractable for both analysis and programming.

Cicolani, Luigi S.↗

Trajectory generation of space telerobots

The purpose is to review a variety of trajectory generation techniques which may be applied to space telerobots and to identify problems which need to be addressed in future telerobot motion control systems. As a starting point for the development of motion generation systems for space telerobots, the operation and limitations of traditional path-oriented trajectory generation approaches are discussed. This discussion leads to a description of more advanced techniques which have been demonstrated in research laboratories, and their potential applicability to space telerobots. Examples of this work include systems that incorporate sensory-interactive motion capability and optimal motion planning. Additional considerations which need to be addressed for motion control of a space telerobot are described, such as redundancy resolution and the description and generation of constrained and multi-armed cooperative motions. A task decomposition module for a hierarchical telerobot control system which will serve as a testbed for trajectory generation approaches which address these issues is also discussed briefly.

Lumia, R.↗

Handbook on astronaut crew motion disturbances for control system design

The analyses and results pertinent to the characterization of the disturbances imparted to the Skylab vehicle by the T-013 crew motion experiments are summarized. Guidelines to help control system designers assess anticipated crew motion disturbances during the design cycle of a new manned spacecraft control system are provided. These guidelines, in conjunction with the T-013 characterizations outlined, begin with the control system conceptual design and conclude with preliminary expectations for pointing performance as affected by crew motions. Block diagrams to highlight the contents so that the reader can easily identify the information and data flow are used. These diagrams provide a handy cross reference of related topics.

Kullas, M. C.↗

Utilizing Commercial Hardware and Open Source Computer Vision Software to Perform Motion Capture for Reduced Gravity Flight

Long duration space travel to Mars or to an asteroid will expose astronauts to extended periods of reduced gravity. Since gravity is not present to aid loading, astronauts will use resistive and aerobic exercise regimes for the duration of the space flight to minimize the loss of bone density, muscle mass and aerobic capacity that occurs during exposure to a reduced gravity environment. Unlike the International Space Station (ISS), the area available for an exercise device in the next generation of spacecraft is limited. Therefore, compact resistance exercise device prototypes are being developed. The NASA Digital Astronaut Project (DAP) is supporting the Advanced Exercise Concepts (AEC) Project, Exercise Physiology and Countermeasures (ExPC) project and the National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) funded researchers by developing computational models of exercising with these new advanced exercise device concepts. To perform validation of these models and to support the Advanced Exercise Concepts Project, several candidate devices have been flown onboard NASAs Reduced Gravity Aircraft. In terrestrial laboratories, researchers typically have available to them motion capture systems for the measurement of subject kinematics. Onboard the parabolic flight aircraft it is not practical to utilize the traditional motion capture systems due to the large working volume they require and their relatively high replacement cost if damaged. To support measuring kinematics on board parabolic aircraft, a motion capture system is being developed utilizing open source computer vision code with commercial off the shelf (COTS) video camera hardware. While the systems accuracy is lower than lab setups, it provides a means to produce quantitative comparison motion capture kinematic data. Additionally, data such as required exercise volume for small spaces such as the Orion capsule can be determined. METHODS: OpenCV is an open source computer vision library that provides the ability to perform multi-camera 3 dimensional reconstruction. Utilizing OpenCV, via the Python programming language, a set of tools has been developed to perform motion capture in confined spaces using commercial cameras. Four Sony Video Cameras were intrinsically calibrated prior to flight. Intrinsic calibration provides a set of camera specific parameters to remove geometric distortion of the lens and sensor (specific to each individual camera). A set of high contrast markers were placed on the exercising subject (safety also necessitated that they be soft in case they become detached during parabolic flight); small yarn balls were used. Extrinsic calibration, the determination of camera location and orientation parameters, is performed using fixed landmark markers shared by the camera scenes. Additionally a wand calibration, the sweeping of the camera scenes simultaneously, was also performed. Techniques have been developed to perform intrinsic calibration, extrinsic calibration, isolation of the markers in the scene, calculation of marker 2D centroids, and 3D reconstruction from multiple cameras. These methods have been tested in the laboratory side-by-side comparison to a traditional motion capture system and also on a parabolic flight.

Biodynamics↗

The N-BOD2 user's and programmer's manual

A general purpose digital computer program was developed and designed to aid in the analysis of spacecraft attitude dynamics. The program provides the analyst with the capability of automatically deriving and numerically solving the equations of motion of any system that can be modeled as a topological tree of coupled rigid bodies, flexible bodies, point masses, and symmetrical momentum wheels. Two modes of output are available. The composite system equations of motion may be outputted on a line printer in a symbolic form that may be easily translated into common vector-dyadic notation, or the composite system equations of motion may be solved numerically and any desirable set of system state variables outputted as a function of time.

Frisch, H. P.↗

Simulation System Optimization for Rotorcraft Research on the Vertical Motion Simulator

A handling qualities experiment was run on the Vertical Motion Simulator using the GenHel math model configured for a UH60A Blackhawk helicopter. In order to obtain valid handling qualities ratings, the simulation system including the math model were optimized to provide realistic cues. The aircraft math model was adjusted to account for the simulator motion system delays and the motion systems gains and washouts were tuned for the bob-up, precision hover and sidestep tasks. The handling qualities ratings from this experiment showed good correlation to flight ratings.

Beard, Steven D.↗

Visually guided control of movement in the context of multimodal stimulation

Flight simulation has been almost exclusively concerned with simulating the motions of the aircraft. Physically distinct subsystems are often combined to simulate the varieties of aircraft motion. Visual display systems simulate the motion of the aircraft relative to remote objects and surfaces (e.g., other aircraft and the terrain). 'Motion platform' simulators recreate aircraft motion relative to the gravitoinertial vector (i.e., correlated rotation and tilt as opposed to the 'coordinated turn' in flight). 'Control loaders' attempt to simulate the resistance of the aerodynamic medium to aircraft motion. However, there are few operational systems that attempt to simulate the motion of the pilot relative to the aircraft and the gravitoinertial vector. The design and use of all simulators is limited by poor understanding of postural control in the aircraft and its effect on the perception and control of flight. Analysis of the perception and control of flight (real or simulated) must consider that: (1) the pilot is not rigidly attached to the aircraft; and (2) the pilot actively monitors and adjusts body orientation and configuration in the aircraft. It is argued that this more complete approach to flight simulation requires that multimodal perception be considered as the rule rather than the exception. Moreover, the necessity of multimodal perception is revealed by emphasizing the complementarity rather than the redundancy among perceptual systems. Finally, an outline is presented for an experiment to be conducted at NASA ARC. The experiment explicitly considers possible consequences of coordination between postural and vehicular control.

Riccio, Gary E.↗

Hallmarks of an Autonomous Space System’s Development and V&V

NASA’s deep space missions are dependent on autonomy when conditions require a faster response than can be directed by communication to and from Earth. Verification and Validation (V&V) of the autonomy is an essential step for missions to be confident in its use. This paper provides an overview of the development and V&V of one such autonomous system, DIMES (Descent Image Motion Estimation System), used successfully to reduce a critical mission risk during the landings of NASA’s two Mars Exploration Rovers on Mars in 2004.

Feather, Martin↗

Automatic control of a helicopter with a hanging load

An autopilot logic is designed here for controlling a helicopter with a hanging load. A 16th order model for the system is decoupled into four subsystems: (1) a second order system for yawing motion, (2) a second order system for vertical motion, (3) a sixth order system for longitudinal motion, and (4) a sixth order system for lateral motion. A measuring scheme, which could be used in remote areas, is developed and filters are designed to estimate the state variables from these measurements. The autopilot can be used to move the load over short distances without retracting the cables. This is done by automatically shifting the autopilot modes from position-hold (hover) to acceleration-hold to velocity-hold (cruise) to deceleration-hold to velocity-hold (near hover) to position-hold (hover). Use of such an autopilot might save considerable turnaround time. The Sikorsky S-61 helicopter is chosen as an example vehicle. The performance of the controlled system is studied in the presence of longitudinal and lateral winds.

Gupta, N. K.↗

Moore Machine Motion Controls Refurbishment Statement of Work and Specification

Diamond Turning Machines known as “Moore” machines are used in the production of Potassium diHydrogen Phosphate (KDP) optics required for the National Ignition Facility (NIF). These machines are owned by the Department of Energy, as provided by Lawrence Livermore National Security LLC (LLNS). Moore Machines 1 and 2 are located at the Gooch & Housego (G&H) facility in Highland Heights, OH. The existing Aerotech motion controllers, motor drivers/amplifiers, input/output (I/O) hardware, control computer, software user interface, human machine interface (HMI), cabling, and encoders are beyond service life and require replacement. This Statement of Work (SoW) defines the motion control system refurbishment requirements for the Moore diamond turning machines designated Moore 1 and Moore 2. The motion controls system design shall include a motion control computer, control software, motor drive amplifiers and controllers, linear scale encoders, rotary encoders, HMI, power distribution, emergency stop (E-Stop) and interlocks, cabling, switches, solenoids, transducers, sensors, actuators, ancillary system interfaces, and related components necessary for a complete machine tool control system. The Subcontractor shall include effort to standardize systems between the two machines if reasonably possible.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Reconstruction of dynamic scenes based on differences between collected view and synthesized view

A system for generating a 4D representation of a scene in motion given a sinogram collected from the scene while in motion. The system generates, based on scene parameters, an initial 3D representation of the scene indicating linear attenuation coefficients (LACs) of voxels of the scene. The system generates, based on motion parameters, a 4D motion field indicating motion of the scene. The system generates, based on the initial 3D representation and the 4D motion field, a 4D representation of the scene that is a sequence of 3D representations having LACs. The system generates a synthesized sinogram of the scene from the generated 4D representation. The system adjusts the scene parameters and the motion parameters based on differences between the collected sinogram and the synthesized sinogram. The processing is repeated until the differences satisfy a termination criterion.

Kim, Hyojin↗

Equations of motion of slung-load systems, including multilift systems

General simulation equations are derived for the rigid body motion of slung-load systems. This work is motivated by an interest in trajectory control for slung loads carried by two or more helicopters. An approximation of these systems consists of several rigid bodies connected by straight-line cables or links. The suspension can be assumed elastic or inelastic. Equations for the general system are obtained from the Newton-Euler rigid-body equations with the introduction of generalized velocity coordinates. Three forms are obtained: two generalize previous case-specific results for single-helicopter systems with elastic and inelastic suspensions, respectively; and the third is a new formulation for inelastic suspensions. The latter is derived from the elastic suspension equations by choosing the generalized coordinates so that motion induced by cable stretching is separated from motion with invariant cable lengths, and by then nulling the stretching coordinates to get a relation for the suspension forces. The result is computationally more efficient than the conventional formulation, is readily integrated with the elastic suspension formulation, and is easily applied to the complex dual-lift and multilift systems. Results are given for two-helicopter systems; three configurations are included and these can be integrated in a single simulation. Equations are also given for some single-helicopter systems, for comparison with the previous literature, and for a multilift system. Equations for degenerate-body approximations (point masses, rigid rods) are also formulated and results are given for dual-lift and multilift systems. Finally, linearlized equations of motion are given for general slung-load systems are presented along with results for the two-helicopter system with a spreader bar.

Cicolani, Luigi S.↗