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At least 235 records · Page 13

Understanding software faults and their role in software reliability modeling

This study is a direct result of an on-going project to model the reliability of a large real-time control avionics system. In previous modeling efforts with this system, hardware reliability models were applied in modeling the reliability behavior of this system. In an attempt to enhance the performance of the adapted reliability models, certain software attributes were introduced in these models to control for differences between programs and also sequential executions of the same program. As the basic nature of the software attributes that affect software reliability become better understood in the modeling process, this information begins to have important implications on the software development process. A significant problem arises when raw attribute measures are to be used in statistical models as predictors, for example, of measures of software quality. This is because many of the metrics are highly correlated. Consider the two attributes: lines of code, LOC, and number of program statements, Stmts. In this case, it is quite obvious that a program with a high value of LOC probably will also have a relatively high value of Stmts. In the case of low level languages, such as assembly language programs, there might be a one-to-one relationship between the statement count and the lines of code. When there is a complete absence of linear relationship among the metrics, they are said to be orthogonal or uncorrelated. Usually the lack of orthogonality is not serious enough to affect a statistical analysis. However, for the purposes of some statistical analysis such as multiple regression, the software metrics are so strongly interrelated that the regression results may be ambiguous and possibly even misleading. Typically, it is difficult to estimate the unique effects of individual software metrics in the regression equation. The estimated values of the coefficients are very sensitive to slight changes in the data and to the addition or deletion of variables in the regression equation. Since most of the existing metrics have common elements and are linear combinations of these common elements, it seems reasonable to investigate the structure of the underlying common factors or components that make up the raw metrics. The technique we have chosen to use to explore this structure is a procedure called principal components analysis. Principal components analysis is a decomposition technique that may be used to detect and analyze collinearity in software metrics. When confronted with a large number of metrics measuring a single construct, it may be desirable to represent the set by some smaller number of variables that convey all, or most, of the information in the original set. Principal components are linear transformations of a set of random variables that summarize the information contained in the variables. The transformations are chosen so that the first component accounts for the maximal amount of variation of the measures of any possible linear transform; the second component accounts for the maximal amount of residual variation; and so on. The principal components are constructed so that they represent transformed scores on dimensions that are orthogonal. Through the use of principal components analysis, it is possible to have a set of highly related software attributes mapped into a small number of uncorrelated attribute domains. This definitively solves the problem of multi-collinearity in subsequent regression analysis. There are many software metrics in the literature, but principal component analysis reveals that there are few distinct sources of variation, i.e. dimensions, in this set of metrics. It would appear perfectly reasonable to characterize the measurable attributes of a program with a simple function of a small number of orthogonal metrics each of which represents a distinct software attribute domain.

Munson, John C.↗

30 Years of Wahba's Problem

This article discusses a problem proposed by Grace Wahba: Find the orthogonal matrix A with determinant +1 that minimizes the loss function L(A) is identical with the 1/2(summation from i( a(sub i) * absolute value of (b(sub i)- Ar(sub i))squared). where {b(sub i)} is a set of unit vectors measured in a spacecraft's body frame, {r(sub i)} e the corresponding unit vectors in a reference frame and {a(sub i) are non-negative weights). The orthogonal Procrustes problem is to find the orthogonal matrix A that is closest to B in the sense of the Fobenius norm, so that Wahba's Problem is equivalent to the orthogonal Procrustes problem with the provision that the determinant of A must be +1. The article reviews various solutions to this problem and the implementations of the various solutions.

Markley, F. Landis↗

Spatial orientation of semicircular canals and afferent sensitivity vectors in pigeons

Rotational head motion in vertebrates is detected by the semicircular canal system, whose innervating primary afferent fibers carry information about movement in specific head planes. The semicircular canals have been qualitatively examined over a number of years, and the canal planes have been quantitatively characterized in several animal species. The present study first determined the geometric relationship between individual semicircular canals and between the canals and the stereotactic head planes in pigeons. Stereotactic measurements of multiple points along the circumference of the bony canals were taken, and the measured points fitted with a three-dimensional planar surface. Direction normals to the plane's surface were calculated and used to define angles between semicircular canal pairs. Because of the unusual shape of the anterior semicircular canals in pigeons, two planes, a major and a minor, were fitted to the canal's course. Calculated angle values for all canals indicated that the horizontal and posterior semicircular canals are nearly orthogonal, but the anterior canals have substantial deviations from orthogonality with other canal planes. Next, the responses of the afferent fibers that innervate each of the semicircular canals to 0.5 Hz sinusoidal rotation about an earth-vertical axis were obtained. The head orientation relative to the rotation axis was systematically varied so that directions of maximum sensitivity for each canal afferent could be determined. These sensitivity vectors were then compared with the canal plane direction normals. The afferents that innervated specific semicircular canals formed homogeneous clusters of sensitivity vectors in different head planes. The horizontal and posterior afferents had average sensitivity vectors that were largely co-incident with the innervated canal plane direction normals. Anterior canal afferents, however, appeared to synthesize contributions from the major and minor plane components of the bony canal structure to produce a resultant sensitivity vector that was positioned between the canal planes. Calculated angles between the average canal afferent sensitivity vectors revealed that direction orthogonality is preserved at the afferent signal level, even though deviations from canal plane orthogonality exist.

NASA Discipline Neuroscience↗

All-Elastomer 3-Axis Contact Resistive Tactile Sensor Arrays and Micromilled Manufacturing Methods Thereof

At least one tactile sensor includes an insulating layer and a conductive layer formed on the surface of the insulating layer. The conductive layer defines at least one group of flexible projections extending orthogonally from the surface of the insulating layer. The flexible projections include a major projection extending a distance orthogonally from the surface and at least one minor projection that is adjacent to and separate from the major projection wherein the major projection extends a distance orthogonally that is greater than the distance that the minor projection extends orthogonally. Upon a compressive force normal to, or a shear force parallel to, the surface, the major projection and the minor projection flex such that an electrical contact resistance is formed between the major projection and the minor projection. A capacitive tactile sensor is also disclosed that responds to the normal and shear forces.

Charalambides, Alexandros↗

Adapting ODC for Empirical Evaluation of Pre-Launch Anomalies

This slide presentation reviews the concept of using Orthogonal Defect Classification (ODC) to identify pre-launch anomalies in software. The goals of this work are: (1) To characterize pre-launch software anomalies, using data from multiple spacecraft projects, by means of a defect-analysis technology, Orthogonal Defect Classification (ODC). (2) To support transfer of ODC to NASA projects through applications and demonstrations. Approach: Analyzed anomaly data using adaptation of Orthogonal Defect Classification (ODC) method. This project has adapted ODC for NASA use and applied to NASA projects.

defect analysis↗

Rotations about nonorthogonal axes.

Given a desired three-axis reorientation, it is well known that there are, in general, twelve possible sequences of three successive rotations about orthogonal axes which will perform the reorientation. The present paper determines whether the maneuver can or cannot be accomplished with three successive rotations aobut arbitrary (not necessarily orthogonal) axes. This result is then employed to derive conditions on the axes which insure that every rotation may be so generated. The associated angles of all the possible three-legged slews are exhibited by a closed analytical procedure which requires no assumptions concerning the degree of nonorthogonality nor any approximations. The classical orthogonal case (Euler angles) is then an immediate consequence as a special case of the generalized solution.

Davenport, P. B.↗

Lunar surface magnetometers

Discussion of the properties of both the stationary and portable magnetometers used in the Apollo program to measure static and dynamic fields on the lunar surface. A stationary magnetometer is described in which the three orthogonal vector components of the magnetic field are measured by three fluxgate sensors which are located at the ends of three orthogonal booms and contain ferromagnetic cores driven to saturation by means of a periodic current. In the Apollo 16 magnetometer special high-stability ring-core sensors were used which provided an output voltage to the analog-to-digital converter which is proportional to the magnetic field. A portable magnetometer is described which consists of a set of three orthogonal fluxgate sensors mounted on top of a tripod connected to an electronics box by a ribbon cable. The above-mentioned stationary magnetometer simultaneously measured the time-varying components of the field which were later subtracted from the portable magnetometer measurements to give the desired resultant steady field values caused by the magnetized crustal material.

Dyal, P.↗

Dual wavelength scanning Doppler velocimeter

A laser Doppler velocimeter is described simultaneously measuring localized orthogonal velocity components in a fluid stream without perturbation of the flowfield. A first pair of beams of a first common wavelength and a second pair of beams of a second common wavelength are derived from a single laser source, directed along a single optical axis. The respective beams of each pair of beams are disposed parallel to the axis, symmetrically about the axis, and are positioned orthogonally about the axis relative to each other. The four beams are then focused upon a selected test volume within the flowfield. Light scattered at that point is collected by an appropriate optical system and focused onto photodetectors which develop electrical output signals commensurate with the orthogonal velocity components at the test point.

Rloff, K. L.↗

System for interference signal nulling by polarization adjustment

A receiving system for automatically selecting a desired one of two approximately orthogonally polarized signals occupying the same bandwidth, is described. Received signals are provided by any orthomode antenna system at a pair of output ports, i.e., right hand and left hand circular polarizations or two linear polarizations. The received signals are then applied to the inputs of a hybrid junction to produce sum and difference signals. The resulting sum signal at one output port comprises components of the undesired one of two orthogonally polarized signals and is used to coherently detect and dynamically balance out the undesired signal components that are included at the difference signal port. The desired one of two orthogonally polarized signals is thereby provided at the difference port of the hybrid junction. Feedback loops are used to effect dynamic balancing.

Ohlson, J. E.↗

Deflection of polarised radiation - Relative phase delay technique

The article discusses the geodesic motion of photons, considering particularly whether oppositely polarized photons fall at the same rate. It is assumed that orthogonally polarized photons would be equally deflected by the gravitational field of a nonrotating mass. Upon the introduction of rotation, the angular momentum of the deflecting source couples to the photon spin through gravitational field action. Thus there arise separate trajectories for orthogonal polarizations. Searching for changes in polarization in a deflected beam is accomplished by a relative phase delay technique. If the beam is split into orthogonal linear polarization, final polarization is elliptical. Experiments have been performed on searching for ellipticity developments in the linearly polarized carrier waves from Helios 1 and 2, and the results are presented.

Dennison, B.↗

Analysis of broadcasting satellite service feeder link power control and polarization

Statistical analyses of carrier to interference power ratios (C/Is) were performed in assessing 17.5 GHz feeder links using (1) fixed power and power control, and (2) orthogonal linear and orthogonal circular polarizations. The analysis methods and attenuation/depolarization data base were based on CCIR findings to the greatest possible extent. Feeder links using adaptive power control were found to neither cause or suffer significant C/I degradation relative to that for fixed power feeder links having similar or less stringent availability objectives. The C/Is for sharing between orthogonal linearly polarized feeder links were found to be significantly higher than those for circular polarization only in links to nominally colocated satellites from nominally colocated Earth stations in high attenuation environments.

Sullivan, T. M.↗

Four-dimensional modulation and coding: An alternate to frequency-reuse

Four dimensional modulation as a means of improving communication efficiency on the band-limited Gaussian channel, with the four dimensions of signal space constituted by phase orthogonal carriers (cos omega sub c t and sin omega sub c t) simultaneously on space orthogonal electromagnetic waves are discussed. "Frequency reuse' techniques use such polarization orthogonality to reuse the same frequency slot, but the modulation is not treated as four dimensional, rather a product of two-d modulations, e.g., QPSK. It is well known that, higher dimensionality signalling affords possible improvements in the power bandwidth sense. Four-D modulations based upon subsets of lattice-packings in four-D, which afford simplification of encoding and decoding are described. Sets of up to 1024 signals are constructed in four-D, providing a (Nyquist) spectral efficiency of up to 10 bps/Hz. Energy gains over the reuse technique are in the one to three dB range t equal bandwidth.

Wilson, S. G.↗

Four-dimensional modulation and coding - An alternate to frequency-reuse

Four dimensional modulation as a means of improving communication efficiency on the band-limited Gaussian channel, with the four dimensions of signal space constituted by phase orthogonal carriers (cos omega sub c t and sin omega sub c t) simultaneously on space orthogonal electromagnetic waves are discussed. 'Frequency reuse' techniques use such polarization orthogonality to reuse the same frequency slot, but the modulation is not treated as four dimensional, rather a product of two-D modulations, e.g., QPSK. It is well known that, higher dimensionality signalling affords possible improvements in the power bandwidth sense. Four-D modulations based upon subsets of lattice-packings in four-D, which afford simplification of encoding and decoding are described. Sets of up to 1024 signals are constructed in four-D, providing a (Nyquist) spectral efficiency of up to 10 bps/Hz. Energy gains over the reuse technique are in the one to three dB range t equal bandwidth.

Wilson, S. G.↗

On the uniqueness of the constrained space orbital variation (CSOV) technique

Several CSOV analyses are performed for the 1Sigma(+) state of NiCO, and it is shown that the importance of the CO sigma donation, Ni pi back donation, and interunit polarizations are virtually independent of the order of the CSOV steps, provided that the open-shell 3d sigma and 4s Ni orbitals are orthogonalized to the CO. This order of orthogonalization is consistent with the polarization of the Ni observed in the unconstrained SCF wavefunction. If instead the CO is orthogonalized to the open-shell Ni orbitals, the frozen orbital repulsion and entire CSOV analysis becomes unphysical. A comparison of the SCF and CAS SCF descriptions for the NiCO 1Sigma(+) state shows the importance of the s to d promotion and sd hybridization in reducing the repulsion and increasing the Ni to CO pi bonding. For LiF, CSOV analyses starting from both the neutral and ionic asymptotes show the bonding to be predominantly Li(+) - F(-). These examples show the uniqueness of the CSOV decomposition.

Bauschlicher, C. W., Jr.↗

Analysis and interpretation of satellite fragmentation data

The velocity perturbations of the fragments of a satellite can shed valuable information regarding the nature and intensity of the fragmentation. A feasibility study on calculating the velocity perturbations from existing equations was carried out by analyzing 23 major documented fragmentation events. It was found that whereas the calculated values of the radial components of the velocity change were often unusually high, those in the two other orthogonal directions were mostly reasonable. Since the uncertainties in the radial component necessarily translate into uncertainties in the total velocity change, it is suggested that alternative expressions for the radial component of velocity be sought for the purpose of determining the cause of the fragmentation from the total velocity change. The calculated variances in the velocity perturbations in the two directions orthogonal to the radial vector indicate that they have the smallest values for collision induced breakups and the largest values for low-intensity explosion induced breakups. The corresponding variances for high-intensity explosion induced breakups generally have values intermediate between those of the two extreme categories. A three-dimensional plot of the variances in the two orthogonal velocity perturbations and the plane change angle shows a clear separation between the three major types of breakups. This information is used to reclassify a number of satellite fragmentation events of unknown category.

Tan, Arjun↗

Effects of switch leakages upon Nimbus-7 SMMR calibration

A calibration model for the Nimbus-7 Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR) is studied. This model not only removes major drawbacks of the current calibration model but also helps us understand the performance degradation of the aging instrument. The current Nimbus-7 SMMR calibration algorithm was derived without considering the interference effect between the two orthogonally polarized signals merging at a ferrite polarization selector switch. The resulting calibrated brightness temperatures, considered as a function of scan angle phi, are not symmetric around phi=0. However, neither the origin of the asymmetry nor the manner in which the two orthogonal components are mixed is fully understood. The proposed calibration model incorporates all the leakage factors associated with the ferrite switches along the signal paths. The resulting calibration equations clarify how the orthogonal components of surface brightness are coupled at radiometers. As a consequence, the origin of the asymmetry is clearly identified and explained. In addition, the feasibility of absolute calibration using in-orbit data is discussed.

Han, Daesoo↗

Development of a multipurpose hand controller for JEMRMS

A prototype multipurpose hand controller for the JEMRMS (Japanese Experiment Module Remote Manipulator System) was developed. The hand controller (H/C) is an orthogonal type, with 6 degrees of freedom (DOF) and small size. The orthogonal type H/C is very simple for coordinate transformations and can easily control any type of manipulators. In fact, the JEMRMS is planned to have two manipulators controlled by a common H/C at this stage. The H/C was able to be used as a rate control joystick and a force reflection master arm, using an experimental 6 DOF manipulator. Good maneuverability was confirmed in the verification test. The orthogonal type H/C is suitable for use as a common H/C for the two manipulators of the JEMRMS.

Matsuhira, Nobuto↗

Low-g payload placement constraints for space station

Payloads onboard the Space Station will be subjected to a steady state acceleration level dominated by gravity gradient and aerodynamic drag forces. The g-level due to gravity gradient forces depends on the payload location relative to the center of mass, whereas the g-level due to aerodynamic drag may be assumed nearly constant throughout the Space Station. The vector of acceleration due to aerodynamic drag can always be broken down into three orthogonal components, in the direction opposite to the velocity vector, along the local vertical, and perpendicular to the orbit plane. It will be shown that the gravity gradient term has two components, which are orthogonal to one another. One component is along the local vertical and the other is perpendicular to the orbit plane. Thus, the combination of all components form an orthogonal triad of vectors. Addressed here are the payload location constraints to satisfy the requirements of 1 micro-g. The permissible locations are within an open-ended tube having an elliptical cross section, which is aligned with the velocity vector and centered on the system center of mass.

Carpenter, Anita S.↗