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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 289 records · Page 16
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2005

NASA Tech Briefs, April 2005

Gas-Tolerant Device Senses Electrical Conductivity of Liquid Nanoactuators Based on Electrostatic Forces on Dielectrics Replaceable Microfluidic Cartridges for a PCR Biosensor CdZnTe Image Detectors for Hard-X-Ray Telescopes High-Aperture-Efficiency Horn Antenna Full-Circle Resolver-to-Linear-Analog Converter Continuous, Full-Circle Arctangent Circuit Advanced Three-Dimensional Display System Automatic Focus Adjustment of a Microscope Topics covered include: FastScript3D - A Companion to Java 3D; Generating Mosaics of Astronomical Images; Simulating Descent and Landing of a Spacecraft; Simulating Vibrations in a Complex Loaded Structure; Rover Sequencing and Visualization Program; Software Template for Instruction in Mathematics; Support for User Interfaces for Distributed Systems; Nanostructured MnO2-Based Cathodes for Li-Ion/Polymer Cells; Multi-Layer Laminated Thin Films for Inflatable Structures; Two-Step Laser Ranging for Precise Tracking of a Spacecraft; Growing Aligned Carbon Nanotubes for Interconnections in ICs; Multilayer Composite Pressure Vessels; Texturing Blood-Glucose-Monitoring Optics Using Oxygen Beams; Fault-Tolerant Heat Exchanger; Atomic Clock Based on Opto-Electronic Oscillator; Microfocus/Polycapillary-Optic Crystallographic X-Ray Sys; Depth-Penetrating Luminescence Thermography of Thermal- Barrier Coatings; One-Dimensional Photonic Crystal Superprisms; Measuring Low-Order Aberrations in a Segmented Telescope; Mapping From an Instrumented Glove to a Robot Hand; Application of the Hilbert-Huang Transform to Financial Data; Optimizing Parameters for Deep-Space Optical Communication; and Low-Shear Microencapsulation and Electrostatic Coating.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2012

Photogrammetry Tool for Forensic Analysis

A system allows crime scene and accident scene investigators the ability to acquire visual scene data using cameras for processing at a later time. This system uses a COTS digital camera, a photogrammetry calibration cube, and 3D photogrammetry processing software. In a previous instrument developed by NASA, the laser scaling device made use of parallel laser beams to provide a photogrammetry solution in 2D. This device and associated software work well under certain conditions. In order to make use of a full 3D photogrammetry system, a different approach was needed. When using multiple cubes, whose locations relative to each other are unknown, a procedure that would merge the data from each cube would be as follows: 1. One marks a reference point on cube 1, then marks points on cube 2 as unknowns. This locates cube 2 in cube 1 s coordinate system. 2. One marks reference points on cube 2, then marks points on cube 1 as unknowns. This locates cube 1 in cube 2 s coordinate system. 3. This procedure is continued for all combinations of cubes. 4. The coordinate of all of the found coordinate systems is then merged into a single global coordinate system. In order to achieve maximum accuracy, measurements are done in one of two ways, depending on scale: when measuring the size of objects, the coordinate system corresponding to the nearest cube is used, or when measuring the location of objects relative to a global coordinate system, a merged coordinate system is used. Presently, traffic accident analysis is time-consuming and not very accurate. Using cubes with differential GPS would give absolute positions of cubes in the accident area, so that individual cubes would provide local photogrammetry calibration to objects near a cube.

Lane, John↗
NASA NTRS2013

4DoF Drift Free Navigation Using Inertial Cues and Optical Flow

In this paper, we describe a novel approach in fusing optical flow with inertial cues (3D acceleration and 3D angular velocities) in order to navigate a Micro Aerial Vehicle (MAV) drift free in 4DoF and metric velocity. Our approach only requires two consecutive images with a minimum of three feature matches. It does not require any (point) map nor any type of feature history. Thus it is an inherently failsafe approach that is immune to map and feature-track failures. With these minimal requirements we show in real experiments that the system is able to navigate drift free in all angles including yaw, in one metric position axis, and in 3D metric velocity. Furthermore, it is a power-on-and-go system able to online self-calibrate the inertial biases, the visual scale and the full 6DoF extrinsic transformation parameters between camera and IMU.

reconnissance↗
NASA NTRS2021

Dense 3D-Reconstruction from Monocular Image Sequences for Computationally Constrained UAS

The ability to find safe landing sites over complex 3D terrain is an essential safety feature for fully autonomous small unmanned aerial systems (UAS), which requires on-board perception for 3D reconstruction and terrain analysis if the overflown terrain is unknown. This is a challenge for UAS that are limited in size, weight and computational power, such as small rotorcrafts executing autonomous missions on Earth, or in planetary applications such as the Mars Helicopter. For such a computationally constraint system, we propose a structure from motion approach that uses inputs from a single downward facing camera to produce dense point clouds of the overflown terrain in real time. In contrast to existing approaches, our method uses metric pose information from a visual-inertial odometry algorithm as camera pose priors, which allows deploying a fast pose refinement step to align camera frames such that a conventional stereo algorithm can be used for dense 3D reconstruction. We validate the performance of our approach with extensive evaluations in simulation, and demonstrate the feasibility with data from UAS flights.

Brockers, Roland↗
NASA NTRS2011

Link Analysis in the Mission Planning Lab

The legacy communications link analysis software currently used at Wallops Flight Facility involves processes that are different for command destruct, radar, and telemetry. There is a clear advantage to developing an easy-to-use tool that combines all the processes in one application. Link Analysis in the Mission Planning Lab (MPL) uses custom software and algorithms integrated with Analytical Graphics Inc. Satellite Toolkit (AGI STK). The MPL link analysis tool uses pre/post-mission data to conduct a dynamic link analysis between ground assets and the launch vehicle. Just as the legacy methods do, the MPL link analysis tool calculates signal strength and signal- to-noise according to the accepted processes for command destruct, radar, and telemetry assets. Graphs and other custom data are generated rapidly in formats for reports and presentations. STK is used for analysis as well as to depict plume angles and antenna gain patterns in 3D. The MPL has developed two interfaces with the STK software (see figure). The first interface is an HTML utility, which was developed in Visual Basic to enhance analysis for plume modeling and to offer a more user friendly, flexible tool. A graphical user interface (GUI) written in MATLAB (see figure upper right-hand corner) is also used to quickly depict link budget information for multiple ground assets. This new method yields a dramatic decrease in the time it takes to provide launch managers with the required link budgets to make critical pre-mission decisions. The software code used for these two custom utilities is a product of NASA's MPL.

McCarthy, Jessica A.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Realtime Three-Dimensional Simulation

Real-time three-dimensional simulations are dependent of three areas: databases and models (3D geometric polygon structure, multiple levels of detail, sound sample waveforms, optimized for interactive, real time use); software applications (software program that controls input devices, visual channels, scene objects, interaction, collision detection, special effects, time of day, weather, I/O, and communication); and hardware (computer, sound processor, monitors control sticks, position trackers, head-mounted displays, amplifiers, speakers, and communications.

Ramsdell, Craig↗
NASA NTRS2003

Biological Visualization, Imaging and Simulation(Bio-VIS) at NASA Ames Research Center: Developing New Software and Technology for Astronaut Training and Biology Research in Space

The Bio- Visualization, Imaging and Simulation (BioVIS) Technology Center at NASA's Ames Research Center is dedicated to developing and applying advanced visualization, computation and simulation technologies to support NASA Space Life Sciences research and the objectives of the Fundamental Biology Program. Research ranges from high resolution 3D cell imaging and structure analysis, virtual environment simulation of fine sensory-motor tasks, computational neuroscience and biophysics to biomedical/clinical applications. Computer simulation research focuses on the development of advanced computational tools for astronaut training and education. Virtual Reality (VR) and Virtual Environment (VE) simulation systems have become important training tools in many fields from flight simulation to, more recently, surgical simulation. The type and quality of training provided by these computer-based tools ranges widely, but the value of real-time VE computer simulation as a method of preparing individuals for real-world tasks is well established. Astronauts routinely use VE systems for various training tasks, including Space Shuttle landings, robot arm manipulations and extravehicular activities (space walks). Currently, there are no VE systems to train astronauts for basic and applied research experiments which are an important part of many missions. The Virtual Glovebox (VGX) is a prototype VE system for real-time physically-based simulation of the Life Sciences Glovebox where astronauts will perform many complex tasks supporting research experiments aboard the International Space Station. The VGX consists of a physical display system utilizing duel LCD projectors and circular polarization to produce a desktop-sized 3D virtual workspace. Physically-based modeling tools (Arachi Inc.) provide real-time collision detection, rigid body dynamics, physical properties and force-based controls for objects. The human-computer interface consists of two magnetic tracking devices (Ascention Inc.) attached to instrumented gloves (Immersion Inc.) which co-locate the user's hands with hand/forearm representations in the virtual workspace. Force-feedback is possible in a work volume defined by a Phantom Desktop device (SensAble inc.). Graphics are written in OpenGL. The system runs on a 2.2 GHz Pentium 4 PC. The prototype VGX provides astronauts and support personnel with a real-time physically-based VE system to simulate basic research tasks both on Earth and in the microgravity of Space. The immersive virtual environment of the VGX also makes it a useful tool for virtual engineering applications including CAD development, procedure design and simulation of human-system systems in a desktop-sized work volume.

Smith, Jeffrey↗
NASA NTRS2021

Teleoperation and Visualization Interfaces for Remote Intervention in Space

Approaches to robotic manufacturing, assembly, and servicing of in-space assets range from autonomous operation to direct teleoperation, with many forms of semi-autonomous teleoperation in between. Because most approaches require one or more human operators at some level, it is important to explore the control and visualization interfaces available to those operators, taking into account the challenges due to significant telemetry time delay. We consider one motivating application of remote teleoperation, which is ground-based control of a robot on-orbit for satellite servicing. This paper presents a model-based architecture that: 1) improves visualization and situation awareness, 2) enables more effective human/robot interaction and control, and 3) detects task failures based on anomalous sensor feedback. We illustrate elements of the architecture by drawing on 10 years of our research in this area. The paper further reports the results of several multi-user experiments to evaluate the model-based architecture, on ground-based test platforms, for satellite servicing tasks subject to round-trip communication latencies of several seconds. The most significant performance gains were obtained by enhancing the operators’ situation awareness via improved visualization and by enabling them to precisely specify intended motion. In contrast, changes to the control interface, including model-mediated control or an immersive 3D environment, often reduced the reported task load but did not significantly improve task performance. Considering the challenges of fully autonomous intervention, we expect that some form of teleoperation will continue to be necessary for robotic in-situ servicing, assembly, and manufacturing tasks for the foreseeable future. We propose that effective teleoperation can be enabled by modeling the remote environment, providing operators with a fused view of the real environment and virtual model, and incorporating interfaces and control strategies that enable interactive planning, precise operation, and prompt detection of errors.

space robotics↗
NASA NTRS2024

Moon Tycoon Version 2: A 3D Lunar Surface Emulator for Desktops and Virtual Reality

Moon Tycoon Version 2 (V2) enables and encourages in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) technology developers, principal investigators (PI), and managers across the agency to design and visualize various Lunar operations and missions with a high degree of photorealism. Users are completely immersed in the emulated Moon environment, enabling them to gain new knowledge as they explore the Lunar surface. Moon Tycoon V2 will soon be released to the NASA Software Catalog for public distribution, which will allow external partners, academia, and other interested parties from the public domain to take part.

Kurt Leucht↗
NASA NTRS1991

Flow visualization

Flow visualization techniques are reviewed, with particular attention given to those applicable to liquid helium flows. Three techniques capable of obtaining qualitative and quantitative measurements of complex 3D flow fields are discussed including focusing schlieren, particle image volocimetry, and holocinematography (HCV). It is concluded that the HCV appears to be uniquely capable of obtaining full time-varying, 3D velocity field data, but is limited to the low speeds typical of liquid helium facilities.

Weinstein, Leonard M.↗
NASA NTRS2021

High Performance, Web-Based, Real-Time Telemetry Visualization for Deep Space Mission Support and Operations

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Mission ControlSystems Section and Mobility and Robotic Systems Section havepartnered to developed a high-performance telemetry visualizationsystem, based on our mature, web-based, 3D visualizationsoftware technology, that provides mission trajectory designers,operations personnel and reconstruction analysts with a highlyaccurate, re-usable, multi-mission solution to interactively visualizeresults from Entry, Descent and Landing (EDL) simulations,real-time mission test beds, live telemetry streams during criticalmission events, such as landing, as well as post-event reconstructionanalysis. This work builds on previous mission visualizationsystems that we have deployed for a variety of flight missions andJPL organizations including NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory(MSL), NASA’S Low Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD),NASA’s Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP), JPL’s MoonRiseLunar sample return proposal. JPL’s mission design teams, JPL’sOffice of Naval Research tasks, and JPL’s Education and PublicOutreach Office.

Wenzel, Sean↗
NASA NTRS2017

3D-Sonification for Obstacle Avoidance in Brownout Conditions

Helicopter brownout is a phenomenon that occurs when making landing approaches in dusty environments, whereby sand or dust particles become swept up in the rotor outwash. Brownout is characterized by partial or total obscuration of the terrain, which degrades visual cues necessary for hovering and safe landing. Furthermore, the motion of the dust cloud produced during brownout can lead to the pilot experiencing motion cue anomalies such as vection illusions. In this context, the stability and guidance control functions can be intermittently or continuously degraded, potentially leading to undetected surface hazards and obstacles as well as unnoticed drift. Safe and controlled landing in brownout can be achieved using an integrated presentation of LADAR and RADAR imagery and aircraft state symbology. However, though detected by the LADAR and displayed on the sensor image, small obstacles can be difficult to discern from the background so that changes in obstacle elevation may go unnoticed. Moreover, pilot workload associated with tracking the displayed symbology is often so high that the pilot cannot give sufficient attention to the LADAR/RADAR image. This paper documents a simulation evaluating the use of 3D auditory cueing for obstacle avoidance in brownout as a replacement for or compliment to LADAR/RADAR imagery.

3D audio↗
NASA NTRS2002

The Science Behind the NASA/NOAA Electronic Theater 2002

Details of the science stories and scientific results behind the Etheater Earth Science Visualizations from the major remote sensing institutions around the country will be explained. The NASA Electronic Theater presents Earth science observations and visualizations in a historical perspective. Fly in from outer space to Temple Square and the University of Utah Campus. Go back to the early weather satellite images from the 1960s see them contrasted with the latest US/Europe/Japan global weather data. See the latest images and image sequences from NASA & NOAA missions like Terra, GOES, NOAA, TRMM, SeaWiFS, Landsat 7 visualized with state-of-the art tools. A similar retrospective of numerical weather models from the 1960s will be compared with the latest "year 2002" high-resolution models. See the inner workings of a powerful hurricane as it is sliced and dissected using the University of Wisconsin Vis-5D interactive visualization system. The largest super computers are now capable of realistic modeling of the global oceans. See ocean vortexes and currents that bring up the nutrients to feed phitoplankton and zooplankton as well as draw the crill fish, whales and fisherman. See the how the ocean blooms in response to these currents and El Nino/La Nina climate regimes. The Internet and networks have appeared while computers and visualizations have vastly improved over the last 40 years. These advances make it possible to present the broad scope and detailed structure of the huge new observed and simulated datasets in a compelling and instructive manner. New visualization tools allow us to interactively roam & zoom through massive global images larger than 40,000 x 20,000 pixels. Powerful movie players allow us to interactively roam, zoom & loop through 4000 x 4000 pixel bigger than HDTV movies of up to 5000 frames. New 3D tools allow highly interactive manipulation of detailed perspective views of many changing model quantities. See the 1m resolution before and after shots of lower Manhattan and the Pentagon after the September 11 disaster as well as shots of Afghanistan from the Space Imaging IKONOS as well as debris plume images from Terra MODIS and SPOT Image. Shown by the SGI-Octane Graphics-Supercomputer are visualizations of hurricanes Michelle 2001, Floyd, Mitch, Fran and Linda. Our visualizations of these storms have been featured on the covers of the National Geographic, Time, Newsweek and Popular Science. Highlights will be shown from the NASA's large collection of High Definition TV (HDTV) visualizations clips New visualizations of a Los Alamos global ocean model, and high-resolution results of a NASA/JPL Atlantic ocean basin model showing currents, and salinity features will be shown. El Nino/La Nina effects on sea surface temperature and sea surface height of the Pacific Ocean will also be shown. The SST simulations will be compared with GOES Gulf Stream animations and ocean productivity observations. Tours will be given of the entire Earth's land surface at 500 m resolution from recently composited Terra MODIS data, Visualizations will be shown from the Earth Science Etheater 2001 recently presented over the last years in New Zealand, Johannesburg, Tokyo, Paris, Munich, Sydney, Melbourne, Honolulu, Washington, New York City, Pasadena, UCAR/Boulder, and Penn State University. The presentation will use a 2-CPU SGI/CRAY Octane Super Graphics workstation with 4 GB RAM and terabyte disk array at 2048 x 768 resolution plus multimedia laptop with three high resolution projectors. Visualizations will also be featured from museum exhibits and presentations including: the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum in Washington, IMAX theater at the Maryland Science Center in Baltimore, the James Lovell Discovery World Science museum in Milwaukee, the American Museum of Natural History (NYC) Hayden Planetarium IMAX theater, etc. The Etheater is sponsored by NASA, NOAA and the American Meteorological Society. This presentation is brought to you by the University of Utah College of Mines and Earth Sciences and, the Utah Museum of Natural History.

Hasler, A. Fritz↗
NASA NTRS1991

Perceiving environmental structure from optical motion

Generally speaking, one of the most important sources of optical information about environmental structure is known to be the deforming optical patterns produced by the movements of the observer (pilot) or environmental objects. As an observer moves through a rigid environment, the projected optical patterns of environmental objects are systematically transformed according to their orientations and positions in 3D space relative to those of the observer. The detailed characteristics of these deforming optical patterns carry information about the 3D structure of the objects and about their locations and orientations relative to those of the observer. The specific geometrical properties of moving images that may constitute visually detected information about the shapes and locations of environmental objects is examined.

Lappin, Joseph S.↗
NASA NTRS2009

J-2X, The Engine of the Future

My project was two-fold, with both parts involving the J-2X Upper Stage engine (which will be used on both the Ares I and V). Mainly, I am responsible for using a program called Iris to create visual represen tations of the rocket engine's telemetry data. Also, my project includes the application of my newly acquired Pro Engineer skills in develo ping a 3D model of the engine's nozzle.

Smith, Gail↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Virtual Diagnostics Interface (ViDI) for Planning Laser-Based Wind Tunnel Experiments

Virtual Diagnostics Interface (ViDI), originally introduced by Richard Schwartz in 2004 and described again by Alderfer, et. al., in 2007, is an interactive 3D software tool developed at NASA Langley Research Center to serve three main purposes: assist in pre-test planning, enhance post-test image analysis and visualization, and serve as a central location for data storage and distribution.1,2 ViDI is composed of custom-developed software and Autodesk® 3ds Max® as it incorporates Computer Aided Design (CAD) models with the results obtained from optical diagnostics.3 This software tool has proven useful in the field of optical diagnostics where pre-test planning of beam paths, optical elements, and test articles must be carried out to avoid interference, ensure spatial resolution is sufficient, and the camera Field of View (FoV) is adequate for the field of interest. Typically, practical considerations such as the distance a camera is from the region of interest, the angles at which the camera is oriented and issues such as the size of the camera and its sensor and size and focal length lens as well as the path of the laser need to be taken into account to predict a successful measurement. An example application of ViDI is shown in Fig.1 where an experiment to investigate flow separation over the wing of the High Lift Common Research Model (HL-CRM) is currently being planned in the National Transonic Facility (NTF) at NASA Langley Research Center.

virtual diagnostics interface↗
NASA NTRS2019

A Streamlined Approach to Spatial Mapping of Complex 3D Thermal Boundary Condition Data

Spatial mapping of 1D, 2D, and particularly 3D thermal boundary condition data is essential for accurate thermal simulation of spacecraft and launch vehicles. This information typically is available in simple ASCII file format but can be problematic to use for thermal simulations. Difficulties that can be encountered include the ability to directly use the available file format, transformation of the data into the desired reference coordinate system in 3D space, and accurate interpolation of the data onto the thermal calculation domain. This paper presents a streamlined approach to spatial mapping of complex unsymmetrical 3D cold wall heat flux data using the fields’ capability in Simcenter3D. A recent example of 3D thermal plume simulation at MSFC will be employed to illustrate the use of text, csv, and Excel files, specifying coordinate systems for transformation of data in 3D space, and use of the various interpolation schemes available for spatial mapping. Spatial boundary condition verification is also very important, and the spacecraft thermal analyst needs effective visualization tools to develop confidence in the boundary condition definitions. Visualization of the spacecraft plume raw field data, the calculated field data, and the interpolated field data onto the thermal calculation domain will be discussed, with a particular focus on real-time viewing of the interpolated data for available interpolation schemes. The objective of this paper is to outline the modeling techniques used with the integrated thermal analysis of a terrestrial lunar lander demonstrator. Specifically, the techniques outlined herein focus on spatial mapping of convective and radiative exhaust plume results from a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis. Two cases were investigated, however, the modeling techniques that were utilized translate to both cases seamlessly. Those two cases were as follows: • Lunar lander demonstrator firing on-pad (worst case). • Lunar lander demonstrator hovering at an elevated position above the launch pad. For the purposes of information control, this paper will focus on the modeling techniques only, using altered or dimensionless data where necessary. BACKGROUND The thermal model examined in this paper is of the lunar lander demonstrator known as XL-1T (terrestrial), born from a collaborative effort between Masten Space Systems (MSS) and NASA, under NASA’s Lunar CATALYST (also known as Lunar Cargo Transportation and Landing by Soft Touchdown) initiative. The lander is a reusable vertical takeoff/vertical landing (VTVL) test bed which is controlled by four throttleable main engines utilizing green hypergolic propellants.

Hawkins, Robert F.↗
NASA NTRS2022

On-board Absolute Localization Based on Orbital Imagery for a Future Mars Science Helicopter

Future Mars Rotorcraft require advanced navigationcapabilities to enable all terrain access over long distance flightsthat are executed fully autonomously. A critical component toenable precision navigation during long traverses is the abilityto perform on-board absolute localization to eliminate drift inposition estimates of the on-board odometry algorithm. Inthis paper, we present an approach for on-board map-basedlocalization to provide global reference position based on orbitalor aerial image maps. Our approach builds on a vision-basedlocalization method to localize against a map derived fromHiRISE image products – an ortho-projected image (orthoimage) and a corresponding digital elevation map. The mapis pre-computed using a feature-based approach. Features arestored with their 3D world coordinates, and a descriptor to codethe local image intensity information in the vicinity of the featurelocation. An on-board matching algorithm uses this informationto match visual features in a query image acquired during flight,guided by a pose prior from the on-board range-visual-inertialstate estimator (Range-VIO). Valid matches are then used bya perspective-n-point (PnP) algorithm to estimate the absolutepose of the vehicle in a global frame. We demonstrate andevaluate our approach on simulated data, and data from UASflights.

Balaram, J. Bob↗