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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 307 records · Page 17

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NASA NTRS1979

Low-level processing for real-time image analysis

A system that detects object outlines in television images in real time is described. A high-speed pipeline processor transforms the raw image into an edge map and a microprocessor, which is integrated into the system, clusters the edges, and represents them as chain codes. Image statistics, useful for higher level tasks such as pattern recognition, are computed by the microprocessor. Peak intensity and peak gradient values are extracted within a programmable window and are used for iris and focus control. The algorithms implemented in hardware and the pipeline processor architecture are described. The strategy for partitioning functions in the pipeline was chosen to make the implementation modular. The microprocessor interface allows flexible and adaptive control of the feature extraction process. The software algorithms for clustering edge segments, creating chain codes, and computing image statistics are also discussed. A strategy for real time image analysis that uses this system is given.

Eskenazi, R.↗

NASA NTRS2004

Path perception during rotation: influence of instructions, depth range, and dot density

How do observers perceive their direction of self-motion when traveling on a straight path while their eyes are rotating? Our previous findings suggest that information from retinal flow and extra-retinal information about eye movements are each sufficient to solve this problem for both perception and active control of self-motion [Vision Res. 40 (2000) 3873; Psych. Sci. 13 (2002) 485]. In this paper, using displays depicting translation with simulated eye rotation, we investigated how task variables such as instructions, depth range, and dot density influenced the visual system's reliance on retinal vs. extra-retinal information for path perception during rotation. We found that path errors were small when observers expected to travel on a straight path or with neutral instructions, but errors increased markedly when observers expected to travel on a curved path. Increasing depth range or dot density did not improve path judgments. We conclude that the expectation of the shape of an upcoming path can influence the interpretation of the ambiguous retinal flow. A large depth range and dense motion parallax are not essential for accurate path perception during rotation, but reference objects and a large field of view appear to improve path judgments.

Space Perception/physiology↗

NASA NTRS1977

MIDAS, prototype Multivariate Interactive Digital Analysis System for large area earth resources surveys. Volume 1: System description

A third-generation, fast, low cost, multispectral recognition system (MIDAS) able to keep pace with the large quantity and high rates of data acquisition from large regions with present and projected sensots is described. The program can process a complete ERTS frame in forty seconds and provide a color map of sixteen constituent categories in a few minutes. A principle objective of the MIDAS program is to provide a system well interfaced with the human operator and thus to obtain large overall reductions in turn-around time and significant gains in throughput. The hardware and software generated in the overall program is described. The system contains a midi-computer to control the various high speed processing elements in the data path, a preprocessor to condition data, and a classifier which implements an all digital prototype multivariate Gaussian maximum likelihood or a Bayesian decision algorithm. Sufficient software was developed to perform signature extraction, control the preprocessor, compute classifier coefficients, control the classifier operation, operate the color display and printer, and diagnose operation.

Christenson, D.↗

NASA NTRS1987

The Fringe Reading Facility at the Max-Planck-Institut fuer Stroemungsforschung

A Mach-Zehnder interferometer is used for optical flow measurements in a transonic wind tunnel. Holographic interferograms are reconstructed by illumination with a He-Ne-laser and viewed by a video camera through wide angle optics. This setup was used for investigating industrial double exposure holograms of truck tires in order to develop methods of automatic recognition of certain manufacturing faults. Automatic input is achieved by a transient recorder digitizing the output of a TV camera and transferring the digitized data to a PDP11-34. Interest centered around sequences of interferograms showing the interaction of vortices with a profile and subsequent emission of sound generated by this process. The objective is the extraction of quantitative data which relates to the emission of noise.

Becker, F.↗

NASA NTRS2012

NASA's UAS [Unmanned Aircraft Systems] Related Activities

NASA continues to operate all sizes of UAS in all classes of airspace both domestically and internationally. Missions range from highly complex operations in coordination with piloted aircraft, ground, and space systems in support of science objectives to single aircraft operations in support of aeronautics research. One such example is a scaled commercial transport aircraft being used to study recovery techniques due to large upsets. NASA's efforts to support routine UAS operations continued on several fronts last year. At the national level in the United States (U.S.), NASA continued its support of the UAS Executive Committee (ExCom) comprised of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of Defense (DoD), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and NASA. The committee was formed in recognition of the need of UAS operated by these agencies to access to the National Airspace System (NAS) to support operational, training, development and research requirements. Recommendations were received on how to operate both manned and unmanned aircraft in class D airspace and plans are being developed to validate and implement those recommendations. In addition the UAS ExCom has begun developing recommendations for how to achieve routine operations in remote areas as well as for small UAS operations in class G airspace. As well as supporting the UAS ExCom, NASA is a participant in the recently formed Aviation Rule Making Committee for UAS. This committee, established by the FAA, is intended to propose regulatory guidance which would enable routine civil UAS operations. As that effort matures NASA stands ready to supply the necessary technical expertise to help that committee achieve its objectives. By supporting both the UAS ExCom and UAS ARC, NASA is positioned to provide its technical expertise across the full spectrum of UAS airspace access related topic areas. The UAS NAS Access Project got underway this past year under the leadership of NASA s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate. This project is focused on advancing the state of the art and providing research and analysis results in the areas of Separation Assurance, Communications (non-governmental spectrum allocation for UAS), Certification, and Human System Integration (ground control station design/pilot interfaces). The project is working in close coordination with the FAA and industry standards organizations (e.g. RTCA SC 203). More details on this project are provided in a separate article in this year's yearbook

Bauer, Jeffrey↗

NASA NTRS1985

Angle-Measurement and Ranging System

Optical system automatically supplies information on angular position and range of object. Stereo rangefinder video signals from cameras processed to determine center of brightness for images of beacon on target vehicle. Range updated by onboard computer. Originally developed for spacecraft rendezvous and guidance, features of system adapted to angle-measurement and ranging problems on Earth. Technique also used for tool alinement inspections and color recognition.

Tietz, J. C.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Determine precipitation rates from visible and infrared satellite images of clouds by pattern recognition technique

A more advanced cloud pattern analysis algorithm was subsequently developed to take the shape and brightness of the various clouds into account in a manner that is more consistent with the human analyst's perception of GOES cloud imagery. The results of that classification scheme were compared with precipitation probabilities observed from ships of opportunity off the U.S. east coast to derive empirical regressions between cloud types and precipitation probability. The cloud morphology was then quantitatively and objectively used to map precipitation probabilities during two winter months during which severe cold air outbreaks were observed over the northwest Atlantic. Precipitation probabilities associated with various cloud types are summarized. Maps of precipitation probability derived from the cloud morphology analysis program for two months and the precipitation probability derived from thirty years of ship observation were observed.

Weinman, James A.↗

NASA NTRS1996

Astrobiology Workshop: Leadership in Astrobiology

Astrobiology is defined in the 1996 NASA Strategic Plan as 'The study of the living universe.' At NASA's Ames Research Center, this endeavor encompasses the use of space to understand life's origin, evolution, and destiny in the universe. Life's origin refers to understanding the origin of life in the context of the origin and diversity of planetary systems. Life's evolution refers to understanding how living systems have adapted to Earth's changing environment, to the all-pervasive force of gravity, and how they may adapt to environments beyond Earth. Life's destiny refers to making long-term human presence in space a reality, and laying the foundation for understanding and managing changes in Earth's environment. The first Astrobiology Workshop brought together a diverse group of researchers to discuss the following general questions: Where and how are other habitable worlds formed? How does life originate? How have the Earth and its biosphere influenced each other over time? Can terrestrial life be sustained beyond our planet? How can we expand the human presence to Mars? The objectives of the Workshop included: discussing the scope of astrobiology, strengthening existing efforts for the study of life in the universe, identifying new cross-disciplinary programs with the greatest potential for scientific return, and suggesting steps needed to bring this program to reality. Ames has been assigned the lead role for astrobiology by NASA in recognition of its strong history of leadership in multidisciplinary research in the space, Earth, and life sciences and its pioneering work in studies of the living universe. This initial science workshop was established to lay the foundation for what is to become a national effort in astrobiology, with anticipated participation by the university community, other NASA centers, and other agencies. This workshop (the first meeting of its kind ever held) involved life, Earth, and space scientists in a truly interdisciplinary sharing of ideas related to life in the universe, and by all accounts was a resounding success.

DeVincenzi, D.↗

NASA NTRS1984

SETI science working group report

This report covers the initial activities and deliberations of a continuing working group asked to assist the SETI Program Office at NASA. Seven chapters present the group's consensus on objectives, strategies, and plans for instrumental R&D and for a microwave search for extraterrestrial in intelligence (SETI) projected for the end of this decade. Thirteen appendixes reflect the views of their individual authors. Included are discussions of the 8-million-channel spectrum analyzer architecture and the proof-of-concept device under development; signal detection, recognition, and identification on-line in the presence of noise and radio interference; the 1-10 GHz sky survey and the 1-3 GHz targeted search envisaged; and the mutual interests of SETI and radio astronomy. The report ends with a selective, annotated SETI reading list of pro and contra SETI publications.

Drake, F.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Processing and analysis of radiometer measurements for airborne reconnaissance

This paper describes selected results of airborne, radiometric imaging measurements at 90 GHz and 140 GHz relevant for the application in reconnaissance. Using a temperature resolution below 0.5 K and an angular resolution of about 1-degree high-quality images show the capability of discriminating between many brightness temperature classes within our natural environment and man-made objects. Measurement examples are given for cloud and fog penetration at 90 GHz, for the detection of vehicles on roads, and for the detection and classification of airports and airplanes. The application of different contour enhancement methods (Marr-Hildreth and Canny) shows the possibility of extracting lines and shapes precisely in order to improve automatic target recognition. The registration of the passive images with corresponding X-band synthetic aperture images from the same area is carried out and the high degree of correlation is discussed.

Suess, Helmut↗

NASA NTRS1994

Cosmic heavy ion tracks in mesoscopic biological test objects

Since more than 20 years ago, when the National Academy of Sciences and the National Research Council of the U.S.A. released their report on 'HZE particle effects in manned spaced flight', it has been emphasized how difficult - if not even impossible - it is to assess their radiobiological impact on man from conventional studies where biological test organisms are stochastically exposed to 'large' fluences of heavy ions. An alternative, competing approach had been realized in the BIOSTACK experiments, where the effects of single cosmic as well as accelerator - heavy ions on individual biological test organisms could be investigated. Although presented from the beginning as the preferable approach for terrestrial investigations with accelerator heavy ions too ('The BIOSTACK as an approach to high LET radiation research'), only recently this insight is gaining more widespread recognition. In space flight experiments, additional constraints imposed by the infrastructure of the vehicle or satellite further impede such investigations. Restrictions concern the physical detector systems needed for the registration of the cosmic heavy ions' trajectories as well as the biological systems eligible as test organisms. Such optimized procedures and techniques were developed for the investigations on chromosome aberrations induced by cosmic heavy ions in cells of the stem meristem of lettuce seeds (Lactuca sativa) and for the investigation of the radiobiological response of Wolffia arriza, which is the smallest flowering (water) plant. The biological effects were studied by the coworkers of the Russian Institute of Biomedical Problems (IBMP) which in cooperation with the European Space Agency ESA organized the exposure in the Biosatellites of the Cosmos series. Since biological investigations and physical measurements of particle tracks had to be performed in laboratories widely separated, the preferred fixed contact between biological test objects and the particle detectors until the geometrical correlation between tracks and organisms has been established could not be maintained. This gave rise to half a dozen of coordinate systems for different measurements which finally had to be related to a single stack reference system.

Facius, R.↗

NASA NTRS1991

The role of UV-optical obscuration in starburst galaxies

The starburst phenomenon was viewed as increasingly important since the recognition that some galaxies have regions in which stars are forming so rapidly that a transient event must be seen. Such starbursts populate samples of galaxies selected either for UV or IR excess, and some were found from IRAS source identifications that must be quite heavily obscured at optical wavelengths. Many interpretations of the physical conditions in these objects and their stellar populations have relied on scaling from models of individual H II regions, and this certainly seems justified from the gross appearance of the optical spectra and IR spectral shapes. Collection of complementary UV, optical, and near-IR data is presented on a set of starbursts, with a preliminary analysis of models for more realistic internal structure.

Keel, William C.↗

NASA NTRS2010

Algorithms for Learning Preferences for Sets of Objects

A method is being developed that provides for an artificial-intelligence system to learn a user's preferences for sets of objects and to thereafter automatically select subsets of objects according to those preferences. The method was originally intended to enable automated selection, from among large sets of images acquired by instruments aboard spacecraft, of image subsets considered to be scientifically valuable enough to justify use of limited communication resources for transmission to Earth. The method is also applicable to other sets of objects: examples of sets of objects considered in the development of the method include food menus, radio-station music playlists, and assortments of colored blocks for creating mosaics. The method does not require the user to perform the often-difficult task of quantitatively specifying preferences; instead, the user provides examples of preferred sets of objects. This method goes beyond related prior artificial-intelligence methods for learning which individual items are preferred by the user: this method supports a concept of setbased preferences, which include not only preferences for individual items but also preferences regarding types and degrees of diversity of items in a set. Consideration of diversity in this method involves recognition that members of a set may interact with each other in the sense that when considered together, they may be regarded as being complementary, redundant, or incompatible to various degrees. The effects of such interactions are loosely summarized in the term portfolio effect. The learning method relies on a preference representation language, denoted DD-PREF, to express set-based preferences. In DD-PREF, a preference is represented by a tuple that includes quality (depth) functions to estimate how desired a specific value is, weights for each feature preference, the desired diversity of feature values, and the relative importance of diversity versus depth. The system applies statistical concepts to estimate quantitative measures of the user s preferences from training examples (preferred subsets) specified by the user. Once preferences have been learned, the system uses those preferences to select preferred subsets from new sets. The method was found to be viable when tested in computational experiments on menus, music playlists, and rover images. Contemplated future development efforts include further tests on more diverse sets and development of a sub-method for (a) estimating the parameter that represents the relative importance of diversity versus depth, and (b) incorporating background knowledge about the nature of quality functions, which are special functions that specify depth preferences for features.

Wagstaff, Kiri L.↗

NASA NTRS1991

The effects of speech controls on performance in advanced helicopters in a double stimulation paradigm

The potential benefit of speech as a control modality has been investigated with mixed results. Earlier studies suggests that speech controls can reduce the potential of manual control overloads and improve time-sharing performance. However, these benefits were not without costs. Pilots reported higher workload levels associated with the use of speech controls. To further investigate these previous findings, an experiment was conducted in a simulation of an advanced single-pilot, scout/attack helicopter at NASA-Ames' ICAB (interchangeable cab) facility. Objective performance data suggested that speech control modality was effective in reducing interference of discrete, time-shared responses during continuous flight control activity. Subjective ratings, however, indicated that the speech control modality increased workload. Post-flight debriefing indicated that these results were mainly due to the increased effort to speak precisely to a less than perfect voice recognition system.

Bortolussi, Michael R.↗

NASA NTRS1996

DTO-675: Voice Control of the Closed Circuit Television System

This report presents the results of the Detail Test Object (DTO)-675 "Voice Control of the Closed Circuit Television (CCTV)" system. The DTO is a follow-on flight of the Voice Command System (VCS) that flew as a secondary payload on STS-41. Several design changes were made to the VCS for the STS-78 mission. This report discusses those design changes, the data collected during the mission, recognition problems encountered, and findings.

Salazar, George↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Experiences in the Practice of Design of Experiments at NASA

Statistical design of experiments (DOE) has gained recognition within NASA by spurring innovation and efficiency, and it has demonstrated significant impact. Aerospace research and development benefits DOE techniques by accelerating learning, maximizing knowledge, ensuring strategic resource investment, and informing data-driven decisions. In practice, DOE relies on multidisciplinary collaboration to develop solution strategies that integrate statistical methods with subject-matter expertise to meet challenging research objectives. This presentation shares experiences in the practice of design of experiments at NASA in aeronautics, space exploration, and atmospheric science.

Peter A. Parker↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Statistical Practice and Research at NASA

The discipline of statistics has gained recognition within NASA by spurring innovation and efficiency, and it has demonstrated significant impact and value. In aerospace research and development, it accelerates learning, maximizes knowledge, ensures strategic resource investment, and informs rigorous data-driven decisions. In practice, it requires immersive multidisciplinary collaboration to develop solution strategies that integrate statistical methods with subject-matter expertise to address challenging research objectives. This presentation provides an overview of statistical case studies in aeronautics, space exploration, and atmospheric science, and it highlights statistical research motivated by NASA’s challenging applications.

Peter A. Parker↗

NASA NTRS1990

Study of Design Knowledge Capture (DKC) schemes implemented in magnetic bearing applications

A design knowledge capture (DKC) scheme was implemented using frame-based techniques. The objective of such a system is to capture not only the knowledge which describes a design, but also that which explains how the design decisions were reached. These knowledge types were labelled definitive and explanatory, respectively. Examination of the design process helped determine what knowledge to retain and at what stage that knowledge is used. A discussion of frames resulted in the recognition of their value to knowledge representation and organization. The FORMS frame system was used as a basis for further development, and for examples using magnetic bearing design. The specific contributions made by this research include: determination that frame-based systems provide a useful methodology for management and application of design knowledge; definition of specific user interface requirements, (this consists of a window-based browser); specification of syntax for DKC commands; and demonstration of the feasibility of DKC by applications to existing designs. It was determined that design knowledge capture could become an extremely valuable engineering tool for complicated, long-life systems, but that further work was needed, particularly the development of a graphic, window-based interface.

Source record↗