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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 37 records · Page 2
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1988

Visual field influence on manual roll and pitch stabilization

Human control performance in nulling perceived tilt angles was investigated for combinations of pseudo-random vestibular disturbances and different waveforms of low frequency wide visual field motions. For both roll and pitch axes, subjects tilted the trainer in which they were seated in the direction of field rotation. This visual bias was much stronger for pitch backwards with upward field rotation. Frequency response analysis showed the dominance of visual cues at low frequencies (below 0.06 Hz) and the reliance on vestibular information in the high frequency range for both axes. Models suggest that operator balancing responses at high frequencies are mainly processed by the semicircular canals rather than the otolith organs. The results also suggest that the subject tends to rely less on the otolith organs for pitch perception than for roll.

Huang, J.-K.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Effect of contrast on the active control of a moving line

In many passive visual tasks, human perceptual judgments are contrast dependent. To explore whether these contrast dependencies of visual perception also affect closed-loop manual control tasks, we examined visuomotor performance as humans actively controlled a moving luminance-defined line over a range of contrasts. Four subjects were asked to use a joystick to keep a horizontal line centered on a display as its vertical position was perturbed by a sum of sinusoids under two control regimes. The total root mean square (RMS) position error decreased quasi-linearly with increasing log contrast across the tested range (mean slope across subjects: -8.0 and -7.7% per log2 contrast, for the two control regimes, respectively). Frequency-response (Bode) plots showed a systematic increase in open-loop gain (mean slope: 1.44 and 1.30 dB per log2 contrast, respectively), and decrease in phase lag with increasing contrast, which can be accounted for by a decrease in response time delay (mean slope: 32 and 40 ms per log2 contrast, respectively). The performance data are well fit by a Crossover Model proposed by McRuer and Krendel, which allowed us to identify both visual position and motion cues driving performance. This analysis revealed that the position and motion cues used to support manual control under both control regimes appear equally sensitive to changes in stimulus contrast. In conclusion, our data show that active control of a moving visual stimulus is as dependent on contrast as passive perception and suggest that this effect is attributed to a shared contrast sensitivity early in the visual pathway, before any specialization for motion processing.

Contrast Sensitivity/physiology↗
NASA NTRS2018

Evaluation of Multiple Flow Constrained Area Capacity Setting Methods for Collaborative Trajectory Options Program

The purpose of this study was to compare flow constrained area (FCA) capacity setting methods for Collaborative Trajectory Options Program (CTOP) as they pertain to the Integrated Demand Management (IDM) concept. IDM uses flow balancing to manage air traffic across multiple FCAs with a common downstream constraint, as well as constraints at the respective FCA locations. FCA capacity rates can be set manually, but generating capacities for multiple, interdependent FCAs could potentially over-burden a user. A new enhancement to CTOP called the FCA Balance Algorithm (FBA) was developed at NASA Ames Research Center to improve the process of allocating capacity across multiple flow constrained segments in the airspace. The FBA evaluates the predicted demand and capacity across multiple FCAs and dynamically generates capacity settings for the FCAs that best meet capacity limits for all identified constraints. In a human-in-the-loop simulation study, both manual and automated capacity setting methods were evaluated in terms of their overall feasibility using measures of system performance, human performance, and qualitative feedback. Subject matter experts were asked to use three different methods to allocate capacity to three FCAs, either (1) by manually setting capacity for every 60-minute time window, (2) by manually setting capacity for every 15-minute time window, or (3) by using the FBA capability to automatically generate capacity settings. Results showed no significant differences in terms of overall system performance, indicated by similar ground delay and airport throughput numbers between methods. However, differences in individual strategies afforded by the manual methods allowed some participants to achieve system-wide delay that was much lower than the average. The FBA was the fastest method of capacity setting, and it received the lowest subjective rating scores on physical task load, mental task load, task difficulty and task complexity out of the three methods. Finally, participants explained through qualitative feedback that there were many benefits to using the FBA, such as ease of use, accuracy, and low risk of human input error. Participants did not experience the same limitations with the FBA that they did with the manual methods, such as reduced accuracy in the 60-minute manual condition, or high complexity in the 15-minute/manual condition. These results suggest that the FBA automation enhancement to CTOP maintains system performance while improving human performance. Therefore, the FBA could be introduced as a way to mitigate operator workload while planning a CTOP.

NextGen↗
NASA NTRS2018

Evaluation of Multiple Flow Constrained Area Capacity Setting Methods for Collaborative Trajectory Options Program

The purpose of this study was to compare flow constrained area (FCA) capacity setting methods for Collaborative Trajectory Options Program (CTOP) as they pertain to the Integrated Demand Management (IDM) concept. IDM uses flow balancing to manage air traffic across multiple FCAs with a common downstream constraint, as well as constraints at the respective FCA locations. FCA capacity rates can be set manually, but generating capacities for multiple, interdependent FCAs could potentially over-burden a user. A new enhancement to CTOP called the FCA Balance Algorithm (FBA) was developed at NASA Ames Research Center to improve the process of allocating capacity across multiple flow constrained segments in the airspace. The FBA evaluates the predicted demand and capacity across multiple FCAs and dynamically generates capacity settings for the FCAs that best meet capacity limits for all identified constraints. In a human-in-the-loop simulation study, both manual and automated capacity setting methods were evaluated in terms of their overall feasibility using measures of system performance, human performance, and qualitative feedback. Subject matter experts were asked to use three different methods to allocate capacity to three FCAs, either (1) by manually setting capacity for every 60-minute time window, (2) by manually setting capacity for every 15-minute time window, or (3) by using the FBA capability to automatically generate capacity settings. Results showed no significant differences in terms of overall system performance, indicated by similar ground delay and airport throughput numbers between methods. However, differences in individual strategies afforded by the manual methods allowed some participants to achieve system-wide delay that was much lower than the average. The FBA was the fastest method of capacity setting, and it received the lowest subjective rating scores on physical task load, mental task load, task difficulty and task complexity out of the three methods. Finally, participants explained through qualitative feedback that there were many benefits to using the FBA, such as ease of use, accuracy, and low risk of human input error. Participants did not experience the same limitations with the FBA that they did with the manual methods, such as reduced accuracy in the 60-minute manual condition, or high complexity in the 15-minute/manual condition. These results suggest that the FBA automation enhancement to CTOP maintains system performance while improving human performance. Therefore, the FBA could be introduced as a way to mitigate operator workload while planning a CTOP.

NextGen↗
NASA NTRS1968

Human work performance in space

Simulation techniques to develop methods of manual performance of extravehicular and intravehicular work in space

Hill, P. R.↗
NASA NTRS1987

A comparison of position and rate control for telemanipulations with consideration of manipulator system dynamics

Position and rate control are the two common manual control modes in teleoperations. Human operator performance using the two modes is evaluated and compared. Simulated three-axis pick-and-place operations are used as the primary task for evaluation. First, ideal position and rate control are compared by considering several factors, such as joystick gain, joystick type, display mode, task, and manipulator work space size. Then the effects of the manipulator system dynamics are investigated by varying the natural frequency and speed limit. Experimental results show that ideal position control is superior to ideal rate control, regardless of joystick type or display mode, when the manipulation work space is small or comparable to the human operator's control space. Results also show that when the manipulator system is slow, the superiority of position control disappears. Position control is recommended for small-work-space telemanipulation tasks, while rate control is recommended for slow wide-work-space telemanipulation tasks.

Kim, Won S.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Robotic Technology Development at Ames: The Intelligent Robotics Group and Surface Telerobotics

Future human missions to the Moon, Mars, and other destinations offer many new opportunities for exploration. But, astronaut time will always be limited and some work will not be feasible for humans to do manually. Robots, however, can complement human explorers, performing work autonomously or under remote supervision from Earth. Since 2004, the Intelligent Robotics Group has been working to make human-robot interaction efficient and effective for space exploration. A central focus of our research has been to develop and field test robots that benefit human exploration. Our approach is inspired by lessons learned from the Mars Exploration Rovers, as well as human spaceflight programs, including Apollo, the Space Shuttle, and the International Space Station. We conduct applied research in computer vision, geospatial data systems, human-robot interaction, planetary mapping and robot software. In planning for future exploration missions, architecture and study teams have made numerous assumptions about how crew can be telepresent on a planetary surface by remotely operating surface robots from space (i.e. from a flight vehicle or deep space habitat). These assumptions include estimates of technology maturity, existing technology gaps, and likely operational and functional risks. These assumptions, however, are not grounded by actual experimental data. Moreover, no crew-controlled surface telerobotic system has yet been fully tested, or rigorously validated, through flight testing. During Summer 2013, we conducted a series of tests to examine how astronauts in the International Space Station (ISS) can remotely operate a planetary rover across short time delays. The tests simulated portions of a proposed human-robotic Lunar Waypoint mission, in which astronauts in lunar orbit remotely operate a planetary rover on the lunar Farside to deploy a radio telescope array. We used these tests to obtain baseline-engineering data.

robotics↗
NASA NTRS1986

The effects of acceleration stress on human workload and manual control

The effects of +Gz stress on operator task performance and workload were assessed. Subjects were presented a two dimensional maze and were required to solve it as rapidly as possible (by moving a light dot through it via a trim switch on a control stick) while under G-stress at levels from +1 Gz to +6 Gz. The G-stress was provided by a human centrifuge. The effects of this stress were assessed by two techniques; (1) objective performance measures on the primary maze-solving task, and (2) subjective workload measures obtained using the subjective workload assessment technique (SWAT). It was found that while neither moderate (+3 Gz) nor high (+5 Gz and +6 Gz) levels of G-stress affected maze solving performance, the high G levels did increase significantly the subjective workload of the maze task.

Gill, R. T.↗
NASA NTRS2017

Brain Activations for Vestibular Stimulation and Dual Tasking Change with Spaceflight

Previous studies have documented the effects of spaceflight on human physiology and behavior, including muscle mass, cardiovascular function, gait, balance, manual motor control, and cognitive performance. An understanding of spaceflight-related changes provides important information about human adaptive plasticity and facilitates future space travel. In the current study, we evaluated how brain activations associated with vestibular stimulation and dual tasking change as a function of spaceflight. Five crewmembers were included in this study. The durations of their spaceflight missions ranged from 3 months to 7 months. All of them completed at least two preflight assessments and at least one postflight assessment. The preflight sessions occurred, on average, about 198 days and 51 days before launch; the first postflight sessions were scheduled 5 days after return. Functional MRI was acquired during vestibular stimulation and dual tasking, at each session. Vestibular stimulation was administered via skull taps delivered by a pneumatic tactile pulse system placed over the lateral cheekbones. The magnitude of brain activations for vestibular stimulation increased with spaceflight relative to the preflight levels, in frontal areas and the precuneus. In addition, longer flight duration was associated with greater preflight-to-postflight increases in vestibular activation in frontal regions. Functional MRI for finger tapping was acquired during both single-task (finger tapping only) and dual-task (simultaneously performing finger tapping and a secondary counting task) conditions. Preflight-to-post-spaceflight decreases in brain activations for dual tasking were observed in the right postcentral cortex. An association between flight duration and amplitude of flight-related change in activations for dual tasking was observed in the parietal cortex. The spaceflight-related increase in vestibular brain activations suggests that after a long-term spaceflight, more neural resources are required to process vestibular input.

Yuan, Peng↗
NASA NTRS1997

Develop Advanced Nonlinear Signal Analysis Topographical Mapping System

During the development of the SSME, a hierarchy of advanced signal analysis techniques for mechanical signature analysis has been developed by NASA and AI Signal Research Inc. (ASRI) to improve the safety and reliability for Space Shuttle operations. These techniques can process and identify intelligent information hidden in a measured signal which is often unidentifiable using conventional signal analysis methods. Currently, due to the highly interactive processing requirements and the volume of dynamic data involved, detailed diagnostic analysis is being performed manually which requires immense man-hours with extensive human interface. To overcome this manual process, NASA implemented this program to develop an Advanced nonlinear signal Analysis Topographical Mapping System (ATMS) to provide automatic/unsupervised engine diagnostic capabilities. The ATMS will utilize a rule-based Clips expert system to supervise a hierarchy of diagnostic signature analysis techniques in the Advanced Signal Analysis Library (ASAL). ASAL will perform automatic signal processing, archiving, and anomaly detection/identification tasks in order to provide an intelligent and fully automated engine diagnostic capability. The ATMS has been successfully developed under this contract. In summary, the program objectives to design, develop, test and conduct performance evaluation for an automated engine diagnostic system have been successfully achieved. Software implementation of the entire ATMS system on MSFC's OISPS computer has been completed. The significance of the ATMS developed under this program is attributed to the fully automated coherence analysis capability for anomaly detection and identification which can greatly enhance the power and reliability of engine diagnostic evaluation. The results have demonstrated that ATMS can significantly save time and man-hours in performing engine test/flight data analysis and performance evaluation of large volumes of dynamic test data.

Jong, Jen-Yi↗