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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 343 records · Page 19
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

A Scalable Hardware-and-Human-in-the-Loop Grid-interactive Efficient Building Equipment Performance Dataset

This project developed a publicly available, high-fidelity dataset about the interactions among humans, homes, and heat pumps supporting grid interactive efficient buildings to balance demand on the grid with comfort for occupants. Laboratory measurements and simulations of the hardware capture the second-scale electric power dynamics of heat pumps providing grid services like load shifting and load shedding. Field measurements, behavior tracking, and qualitative surveys of people in their homes over multiple years—including experimentally adjusting the heating and cooling system to provide grid services—to capture the reciprocal effect of human behavior on grid services, and grid services on human comfort. Taken together, these data capture the complete Hardware and Human in the loop system for residential heat pumps, reducing large uncertainties in simulation for design, and models for control of heat pumps, and grid-interactive buildings.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2024

Increased Static Charge–Induced Threshold Voltage Shifts and Memristor Activity in Pentacene OFETs Comprising Polystyrene–Based Gate Dielectrics Containing Electroactive Small Molecule Crystallites

Top-contact bottom-gate pentacene OFETs are fabricated with single layer dielectrics comprised of either polystyrene (PS), poly(4-methylstyrene) (P4MS), or poly(4-tert-butylstyrene) (P4TBS). The polystyrenes are blended with varying concentrations of two different small molecules, dibenzotetrathiafulvalene (DBTTF) and 2,8-difluoro-5,11-bis(triethylsilylethynyl)anthradithiophene (diF-TES-ADT), to form small, separated crystallites contained throughout the polymer dielectric layer. The OFET characteristics of these devices are investigated and their threshold voltage shifts are measured after –70 V static charging for 5 min. Two-terminal measurements are conducted using multiple different gate biases in the range of –50 to +50 V to investigate memristor behavior in the devices. OFETs containing DBTTF exhibited ΔVth increases as large as 330% relative to control OFETs containing no DBTTF, while OFETs containing at least 7.5 wt.% DBTTF exhibited memristor activity, with currents ranging from 20 nA to 44 µA depending on the applied bias. Furthermore, this work demonstrates that including small, separated crystallites in polymer dielectrics enhances their charge storage ability and can be promising for creating nonbinary memory devices for data processing. Additionally, the observed memristor activity indicates the OFETs in this work can be used in development of neuromorphic systems that aim to mimic the synaptic behavior of the human nervous system.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Simulating nationwide coupled disease and fear spread in an agent-based model

Human cognitive responses, behavioral responses, and disease dynamics co-evolve over the course of any disease outbreak, and can result in complex feedbacks. We present a dynamic agent-based model that explicitly couples the spread of disease with the spread of fear surrounding the disease, implemented within the EpiCast simulation framework. EpiCast models transmission within a realistic synthetic population, capturing individual-level interactions. In our model, fear propagates through both in-person contact and broadcast media, prompting individuals to adopt protective behaviors that reduce disease spread. In order to better understand these coupled dynamics, we create and compare a range of compartmental models to ensure that introducing additional disease states does not prevent the emergence of multiple waves in these simpler models. Additionally, we compare a range of behavioral scenarios within EpiCast, varying the level and intensity of fear and behavior change. Our results show that the addition of asymptomatic, exposed, and pre-symptomatic disease states can impact both the rate at which an outbreak progresses and its overall trajectory in compartmental models. In EpiCast, the combination of non-local fear spread via broadcasters and strong behavioral responses by fearful individuals generally leads to multiple epidemic waves, an outcome that occurs only within a narrow parameter range when fear spreads purely through local contact. Accounting for the coupled spread of fear and disease is critical for understanding disease dynamics and designing timely, targeted responses to emerging infectious threats.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1972

STARSITE Program: Search To Assess Re- sources, Social, Institutional, Technical, and Environmental, toward a decision-making mechanism

The systems approach was used in the seminar on the complex multidisciplinary problem of housing and related environment conditions. The main areas of study are the following; historical overview of housing; diagrammatic presentation of the problem; technological innovations and contributions; management, economic, legal, and political considerations; environment and natural resources; human needs and behavior; model of the housing industry; and potential for implementation. It is felt that a greater attempt should be made to transfer aerospace technology to the housing industry; however, the emphasis of the conference was directed to the modern management techniques developed by NASA. Among the conclusions are the following: The extent and character of the housing problem should be defined. Increased coordination of housing programs within and between Federal agencies is essential. Development of physically sophisticated building systems requires Federal support. New towns of differing life styles need to be created. Physiological and psychological reactions to environmental enclosure need to be defined.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1972

Visual motor response of crewmen during a simulated 90 day space mission as measured by the critical task battery

In order to test various components of a regenerative life support system and to obtain data on the physiological and psychological effects of long-duration exposure to confinement in a space station atmosphere, four carefully screened young men were sealed in space station simulator for 90 days. A tracking test battery was administered during the above experiment. The battery included a clinical test (critical instability task) related to the subject's dynamic time delay, and a conventional steady tracking task, during which dynamic response (describing functions) and performance measures were obtained. Good correlation was noted between the clinical critical instability scores and more detailed tracking parameters such as dynamic time delay and gain-crossover frequency. The comprehensive data base on human operator tracking behavior obtained in this study demonstrate that sophisticated visual-motor response properties can be efficiently and reliably measured over extended periods of time.

Allen, R. W.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Psychophysical Models for Signal Detection with Time Varying Uncertainty

Psychophysical models for the behavior of the human operator in detection tasks which include change in detectability, correlation between observations and deferred decisions are developed. Classical Signal Detection Theory (SDT) is discussed and its emphasis on the sensory processes is contrasted to decision strategies. The analysis of decision strategies utilizes detection tasks with time varying signal strength. The classical theory is modified to include such tasks and several optimal decision strategies are explored. Two methods of classifying strategies are suggested. The first method is similar to the analysis of ROC curves, while the second is based on the relation between the criterion level (CL) and the detectability. Experiments to verify the analysis of tasks with changes of signal strength are designed. The results show that subjects are aware of changes in detectability and tend to use strategies that involve changes in the CL's.

Gai, E.↗
NASA NTRS1977

A model of the human supervisor

A general model of the human supervisor's behavior is given. Submechanisms of the model include: the observer/reconstructor; decision-making; and controller. A set of hypothesis is postulated for the relations between the task variables and the parameters of the different submechanisms of the model. Verification of the model hypotheses is considered using variations in the task variables. An approach is suggested for the identification of the model parameters which makes use of a multidimensional error criterion. Each of the elements of this multidimensional criterion corresponds to a certain aspect of the supervisor's behavior, and is directly related to a particular part of the model and its parameters. This approach offers good possibilities for an efficient parameter adjustment procedure.

Kok, J. J.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Interface design in the process industries

Every operator runs his plant in accord with his own mental model of the process. In this sense, one characteristic of an ideal man-machine interface is that it be in harmony with that model. With this theme in mind, the paper first reviews the functions of the process operator and compares them with human operators involved in control situations previously studied outside the industrial environment (pilots, air traffic controllers, helmsmen, etc.). A brief history of the operator interface in the process industry and the traditional methodology employed in its design is then presented. Finally, a much more fundamental approach utilizing a model definition of the human operator's behavior is presented.

Beaverstock, M. C.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Cockpit resources management and the theory of the situation

The cockpit resource management (CRM) and hypothetical cockpit situations are discussed. Four different conditions which influence pilot action are outlined: (1) wrong assumptions about a situation; (2) stress and workload; (3) frustration and delays to cause risk taking; and (4) ambigious incomplete or contradicting information. Human factors and behavior, and pilot communication and management in the simulator are outlined.

Bolman, L.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Zero-gravity movement studies

The use of computer graphics to simulate the movement of articulated animals and mechanisms has a number of uses ranging over many fields. Human motion simulation systems can be useful in education, medicine, anatomy, physiology, and dance. In biomechanics, computer displays help to understand and analyze performance. Simulations can be used to help understand the effect of external or internal forces. Similarly, zero-gravity simulation systems should provide a means of designing and exploring the capabilities of hypothetical zero-gravity situations before actually carrying out such actions. The advantage of using a simulation of the motion is that one can experiment with variations of a maneuver before attempting to teach it to an individual. The zero-gravity motion simulation problem can be divided into two broad areas: human movement and behavior in zero-gravity, and simulation of articulated mechanisms.

Badler, N. I.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Intelligent control based on fuzzy logic and neural net theory

In the conception and design of intelligent systems, one promising direction involves the use of fuzzy logic and neural network theory to enhance such systems' capability to learn from experience and adapt to changes in an environment of uncertainty and imprecision. Here, an intelligent control scheme is explored by integrating these multidisciplinary techniques. A self-learning system is proposed as an intelligent controller for dynamical processes, employing a control policy which evolves and improves automatically. One key component of the intelligent system is a fuzzy logic-based system which emulates human decision making behavior. It is shown that the system can solve a fairly difficult control learning problem. Simulation results demonstrate that improved learning performance can be achieved in relation to previously described systems employing bang-bang control. The proposed system is relatively insensitive to variations in the parameters of the system environment.

Lee, Chuen-Chien↗
NASA NTRS1993

Psychophysiological investigations of the biomedical problems of manned spaceflight

The Final Report on psychophysiological investigations of the biomedical problems of manned spaceflight is presented. In the first project, statistical analyses of human autonomic data were performed. The objectives were the following: to establish a relational data base containing human psychophysiological data obtained from Shuttle flight experiments and ground-based research over a 20 year period; to enable multi-user access and retrieval of these data for subsequent analyses and for possible inclusion in the proposed Life Sciences Data Archive; and to enable/conduct statistical analyses across several experiments on large subject populations which can thereby provide definitive answers to questions on human autonomic and behavioral responses and adaptation to environmental stressors on Earth and in space. The second project studied motion sickness. The objectives were: to test/develop hardware and procedures to be incorporated into preflight training of crewmembers of Spacelab-J; and to examine spin-off applications of AFT. The third project studied orthostatic intolerance. The objective was to test the feasibility of applying autogenic-feedback training as a potential treatment for postflight orthostatic intolerance.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1994

POINTER: Portable Intelligent Trainer for External Robotics

Intelligent tutoring systems (ITS's) play an increasing role in training and education of people with different levels of skill and knowledge. As compared to conventional computer based training (CBT) an ITS provides more tailored instruction by trying to mimic the teaching behavior of a human instructor as much as possible and is therefore much more flexible. This paper starts with an introduction to ITS's, followed by the description of an ITS for training of an (astronaut) operator in monitoring and controlling robotic arm procedures. The robotic arm will be used for exchange of equipment between a space station and a space plane involving critical and accurate movements of the robotic arm. The ITS for this application, called Pointer, is developed by TNO Physics and Electronics Laboratory and is based upon an existing ITS that includes procedural training. Pointer has been developed on a workstation whereas the target platform was a portable computer. Therefore, a lot of attention had to be paid to scaling effects and keeping up with user friendliness of the much smaller user interface. Although the learning domain was the control of a robotic arm, it is clear that use of intelligent training technologies on a portable computer has many other applications (payload operations, operation control rooms, etc.). Training can occur at any time and place in an attractive and cost effective way.

Kuiper, Hilbert↗
NASA NTRS2001

Remote Sensing, GIS, and Vector-Borne Disease

The concept of global climate change encompasses more than merely an alteration in temperature; it also includes spatial and temporal covariations in precipitation and humidity, and more frequent occurrence of extreme weather events. The impact of these variations, which can occur at a variety of temporal and spatial scales, could have a direct impact on disease transmission through their environmental consequences for pathogen, vector, and host survival, as well as indirectly through human demographic and behavioral responses. New and future sensor systems will allow scientists to investigate the relationships between climate change and environmental risk factors at multiple spatial, temporal and spectral scales. Higher spatial resolution will provide better opportunities for mapping urban features previously only possible with high resolution aerial photography. These opportunities include housing quality (e.g., Chagas'disease, leishmaniasis) and urban mosquito habitats (e.g., dengue fever, filariasis, LaCrosse encephalitis). There are or will be many new sensors that have higher spectral resolution, enabling scientists to acquire more information about parameters such as soil moisture, soil type, better vegetation discrimination, and ocean color, to name a few. Although soil moisture content is now detectable using Landsat, the new thermal, shortwave infrared, and radar sensors will be able to provide this information at a variety of scales not achievable using Landsat. Soil moisture could become a key component in transmission risk models for Lyme disease (tick survival), helminthiases (worm habitat), malaria (vector-breeding habitat), and schistosomiasis (snail habitat).

Beck, Louisa R.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Eye Tracking Metrics for Workload Estimation in Flight Deck Operation

Flight decks of the future are being enhanced through improved avionics that adapt to both aircraft and operator state. Eye tracking allows for non-invasive analysis of pilot eye movements, from which a set of metrics can be derived to effectively and reliably characterize workload. This research identifies eye tracking metrics that correlate to aircraft automation conditions, and identifies the correlation of pilot workload to the same automation conditions. Saccade length was used as an indirect index of pilot workload: Pilots in the fully automated condition were observed to have on average, larger saccadic movements in contrast to the guidance and manual flight conditions. The data set itself also provides a general model of human eye movement behavior and so ostensibly visual attention distribution in the cockpit for approach to land tasks with various levels of automation, by means of the same metrics used for workload algorithm development.

Ellis, Kyle↗
NASA NTRS2011

Factors Impacting Habitable Volume Requirements: Results from the 2011 Habitable Volume Workshop

This report documents the results of the Habitable Volume Workshop held April 18-21, 2011 in Houston, TX at the Center for Advanced Space Studies-Universities Space Research Association. The workshop was convened by NASA to examine the factors that feed into understanding minimum habitable volume requirements for long duration space missions. While there have been confinement studies and analogs that have provided the basis for the guidance found in current habitability standards, determining the adequacy of the volume for future long duration exploration missions is a more complicated endeavor. It was determined that an improved understanding of the relationship between behavioral and psychosocial stressors, available habitable and net habitable volume, and interior layouts was needed to judge the adequacy of long duration habitat designs. The workshop brought together a multi-disciplinary group of experts from the medical and behavioral sciences, spaceflight, human habitability disciplines and design professionals. These subject matter experts identified the most salient design-related stressors anticipated for a long duration exploration mission. The selected stressors were based on scientific evidence, as well as personal experiences from spaceflight and analogs. They were organized into eight major categories: allocation of space; workspace; general and individual control of environment; sensory deprivation; social monotony; crew composition; physical and medical issues; and contingency readiness. Mitigation strategies for the identified stressors and their subsequent impact to habitat design were identified. Recommendations for future research to address the stressors and mitigating design impacts are presented.

Simon, M.↗