The Solar System as an Exosystem: Planet Confusion
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Dean Robert Keithly↗
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Methods of Confusion in a Pattern Matching Task
Pattern degradation influence on human responses in pattern perception studies
PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY↗
Some confusion factors in radar image interpretation
Geologic interpretation of radar imagery for land use applications is discussed with reference to its dependence on classification of the radar return into categories related to some training area within the image. It is shown that such interpretation relies on the assumption that surface characteristics of areas with similar returns are truly similar. It is further shown that this may not always be true over water surfaces due to the influence of system parameters on the radar return. In imagery over land, both system parameters and scene parameters may lead to ambiguous returns which can ultimately lead to misinterpretation.
Blanchard, B. J.↗
A temporal/spectral analysis of small grain crops and confusion crops
Spectral data from the LANDSAT-2 satellite were used to study the growth cycles of fields of wheat, barley, alfalfa, corn, sunflowers, soybeans, rye, flax, oats, millet, grass, and hay. Signatures of pastures, trees, and idle fallow were also studied. The growth cycles were portrayed in the form of temporal plots of the greeness-brightness transformation vector applied to average channel pixel values within the fields, all of which were in three counties in North Dakota. The plots of each crop reveal characteristics which can be used in crop classification procedures.
Johnson, W. R.↗
Einstein observations of the confused 2A 2315-428 region
Four distinct X-ray sources have been detected by the Einstein Observatory imaging proportional counter in the 2A2315-428 field. The strongest source in the 0.2-3.8 keV band is associated with the Sersic 159-03 cluster, which contains a cD galaxy, and may account for as much as 40% of the observed 2A flux. The rest of the flux is suspected to issue from the weaker but more heavily cut-off galaxy NGC 7582. It is suggested that such a large X-ray absorption column density in NGC 7582 may account for the absence of a broad H-alpha emission component, as has been observed in other narrow-line X-ray galaxies. The weak X-ray flux from NGC 7552 shows together with a reanalysis of previous observations, that the source is not variable, that its X-ray emission is not likely to result from a compact nucleus, and that it may be a starburst galaxy.
Charles, P. A.↗
A simulation study of scene confusion factors in sensing soil moisture from orbital radar
Simulated C-band radar imagery for a 124-km by 108-km test site in eastern Kansas is used to classify soil moisture. Simulated radar resolutions are 100 m by 100 m, 1 km by 1km, and 3 km by 3 km. Distributions of actual near-surface soil moisture are established daily for a 23-day accounting period using a water budget model. Within the 23-day period, three orbital radar overpasses are simulated roughly corresponding to generally moist, wet, and dry soil moisture conditions. The radar simulations are performed by a target/sensor interaction model dependent upon a terrain model, land-use classification, and near-surface soil moisture distribution. The accuracy of soil-moisture classification is evaluated for each single-date radar observation and also for multi-date detection of relative soil moisture change. In general, the results for single-date moisture detection show that 70% to 90% of cropland can be correctly classified to within +/- 20% of the true percent of field capacity. For a given radar resolution, the expected classification accuracy is shown to be dependent upon both the general soil moisture condition and also the geographical distribution of land-use and topographic relief. An analysis of cropland, urban, pasture/rangeland, and woodland subregions within the test site indicates that multi-temporal detection of relative soil moisture change is least sensitive to classification error resulting from scene complexity and topographic effects.
Ulaby, F. T.↗
Confusion-limited galaxy fields. I - Simulated optical and near-infrared images
Techniques for simulating images of galaxy fields are presented that extend to high redshifts and a surface density of galaxies high enough to produce overlapping images. The observed properties of galaxies and galaxy-ensembles in the 'local' universe are extrapolated to high redshifts using reasonable scenarios for the evolution of galaxies and their spatial distribution. This theoretical framework is then employed with Monte Carlo techniques to create fairly realistic two-dimensional distributions of galaxies plus optical and near-infrared sky images in a variety of model universes, using the appropriate density, luminosity, and angular size versus redshift relations.
Chokshi, Arati↗
Confusion-limited galaxy fields. II - Classical analyses
Chokshi and Wright presented a detailed model for simulating angular distribution of galaxy images in fields that extended to very high redshifts. Standard tools are used to analyze these simulated galaxy fields for the Omega(O) = 0 and the Omega(O) = 1 cases in order to test the discriminatory power of these tools. Classical number-magnitude diagrams and surface brightness-color-color diagrams are employed to study crowded galaxy fields. An attempt is made to separate the effects due to stellar evolution in galaxies from those due to the space time geometry. The results show that this discrimination is maximized at near-infrared wavelengths where the stellar photospheres are still visible but stellar evolution effects are less severe than those observed at optical wavelenghts. Rapid evolution of the stars on the asymptotic giant branch is easily recognized in the simulated data for both cosmologies and serves to discriminate between the two extreme values of Omega(O). Measurements of total magnitudes of individual galaxies are not essential for studying light distribution in galaxies as a function of redshift. Calculations for the extragalactic background radiation are carried out using the simulated data, and compared to integrals over the evolutionary models used.
Chokshi, Arati↗
The effect of on/off indicator design on state confusion, preference, and response time performance, executive summary
Investigated are five designs of software-based ON/OFF indicators in a hypothetical Space Station Power System monitoring task. The hardware equivalent of the indicators used in the present study is the traditional indicator light that illuminates an ON label or an OFF label. Coding methods used to represent the active state were reverse video, color, frame, check, or reverse video with check. Display background color was also varied. Subjects made judgments concerning the state of indicators that resulted in very low error rates and high percentages of agreement across indicator designs. Response time measures for each of the five indicator designs did not differ significantly, although subjects reported that color was the best communicator. The impact of these results on indicator design is discussed.
Donner, Kimberly A.↗
Power-law confusion: You say incremental, I say differential
Power-law distributions are commonly used to describe the frequency of occurrences of crater diameters, stellar masses, ring particle sizes, planetesimal sizes, and meteoroid masses to name a few. The distributions are simple, and this simplicity has led to a number of misstatements in the literature about the kind of power-law that is being used: differential, cumulative, or incremental. Although differential and cumulative power-laws are mathematically trivial, it is a hybrid incremental distribution that is often used and the relationship between the incremental distribution and the differential or cumulative distributions is not trivial. In many cases the slope of an incremental power-law will be nearly identical to the slope of the cumulative power-law of the same distribution, not the differential slope. The discussion that follows argues for a consistent usage of these terms and against the oft-made implicit claim that incremental and differential distributions are indistinguishable.
Colwell, Joshua E.↗
Grayscale/resolution trade-off for text: Model predictions and psychophysical results for letter confusion and letter discrimination
In a series of papers presented in 1994, we examined the grayscale/resolution trade-off for natural images displayed on devices with discrete pixellation, such as AMLCD's. In the present paper we extend this study by examining the grayscale/resolution trade-off for text images on discrete-pixel displays. Halftoning in printing is an example of the grayscale/resolution trade-off. In printing, spatial resolution is sacrificed to produce grayscale. Another example of this trade-off is the inherent low-pass spatial filter of a CRT, caused by the point-spread function of the electron beam in the phosphor layer. On a CRT, sharp image edges are blurred by this inherent low-pass filtering, and the block noise created by spatial quantization is greatly reduced. A third example of this trade-off is text anti-aliasing, where grayscale is used to improve letter shape, size and location when rendered at a low spatial resolution. There are additional implications for display system design from the grayscale/resolution trade-off. For example, reduced grayscale can reduce system costs by requiring less complexity in the framestore, allowing the use of lower cost drivers, potentially increasing data transfer rates in the image subsystem, and simplifying the manufacturing processes that are used to construct the active matrix for AMLCD (active-matrix liquid-crystal display) or AMTFEL (active-matrix thin-film electroluminescent) devices. Therefore, the study of these trade-offs is important for display designers and manufacturing and systems engineers who wish to create the highest performance, lowest cost device possible. Our strategy for investigating this trade-off is to generate a set of simple test images, manipulate grayscale and resolution, predict discrimination performance using the ViDEOS(Sarnoff) Human Vision Model, conduct an empirical study of discrimination using psychophysical procedures, and verify the computational results using the psychophysical results.
Gille, Jennifer↗
Analyzing Software Specifications for Mode Confusion Potential
Increased automation in complex systems has led to changes in the human controller's role and to new types of technology-induced human error. Attempts to mitigate these errors have primarily involved giving more authority to the automation, enhancing operator training, or changing the interface. While these responses may be reasonable under many circumstances, an alternative is to redesign the automation in ways that do not reduce necessary or desirable functionality or to change functionality where the tradeoffs are judged to be acceptable. This paper describes an approach to detecting error-prone automation features early in the development process while significant changes can still be made to the conceptual design of the system. The information about such error-prone features can also be useful in the design of the operator interface, operational procedures, or operator training.
Nancy G. Leveson↗
Processing Spacecraft Data Without Confusion
Producing multiple versions of the same data product for the same time frame with the same remotely sensed inputs can be a recipe for disaster. Yet, amidst the commotion of satellite launch and early operations (LEO), such data processing is needed. After LEO, the situation gets worse. Processing newly arriving data ("forward processing") is augmented with reprocessing and algorithm development, comparison, evaluation, and testing -- often happening all at the same time. The problem can be analyzed in three main parts -- maintaining multiple versions of algorithms and data so that end-product users are not overwhelmed,allocating computer resources efficiently, and simplifying production operations so that va st amounts of data can be processed with minimal staff and fewer errors. OMIDAPS provides a framework for execution of algorithms that transform lower level data acquired by OMI on NASA's Aura satellite into higher level science data products. In contrast to traditional science data processing systems, we address all parts of the problem with an innovative approach allowing multiple data processing to run within a single physical system. The data products, imports, exports, and execution planning are all segregated into distinct "ArchiveSets." This paper describes reasons for multiple concurrent productions on a typical satellite data processing project using OMI as an example. It describes the virtual data processing system concept and its advantages over separate physical processing strings. It explores the specific implementation of the virtual systems within OMIDAPS and discusses some of the implications of our approach and describes how virtual processing is used to accomplish the overall mission of OMI data processing.
Tilmes, Curt↗
An All Sky Cirrus Confusion Noise Map for WIRE
The Wide Field Infrared Explorer (WIRE) is an infrared space observatory being developed inder NASA's small explorer program for launch inlate 1998 (Schember, et al. 1996). WIRE's main function will be to produce a sky survey at wavelengths of 12 and 25(micro), covering several tens of square degrees at a sensitivity of 0.2mJy, 5(standard deviation)at 25(micro)m, and several hundred square degrees at a sensitivity of 0.7 mJy, 5(standard deviation) at 25(micro)m to study starburst galaxies and search for luminous protogalaxies.
WIRE wide field infrared explorer infrared space o↗
Better Spectrometers, Beautiful Spectra and Confusion for All
The confluence of enormous improvements in submillimeter receivers and the development of powerful large scale observatories is about to force astrophysics and the sciences that support it to develop novel approaches for interpretation of data. The historical method of observing one or two lines and carefully analyzing them in the context of a simple model is now only applicable for distant objects where only a few lines are strong enough to be observable. Modern observatories collect many GHz of high signal-to-noise spectra in a single observation and in many cases, at sufficiently high spatial resolution to start resolving chemically distinct regions. The observatories planned for the near future and the inevitable upgrades of existing facilities will make large spectral data sets the rule rather than the exception in many areas of molecular astrophysics. The methodology and organization required to fully extract the available information and interpret these beautiful spectra represents a challenge to submillimeter astrophysics similar in magnitude to the last few decades of effort in improving receivers. The quality and abundance of spectra effectively prevents line-by-line analysis from being a time efficient proposition, however, global analysis of complex spectra is a science in its infancy. Spectroscopy at several other wavelengths have developed a number of techniques to analyze complex spectra, which can provide a great deal of guidance to the molecular astrophysics community on how to attack the complex spectrum problem. Ultimately, the challenge is one of organization, similar to building observatories, requiring teams of specialists combining their knowledge of dynamical, structural, chemical and radiative models with detailed knowledge in molecular physics and gas and grain surface chemistry to extract and exploit the enormous information content of complex spectra. This paper presents a spectroscopists view of the necessary elements in a tool for complex spectral analysis.
Spectral Analysis↗
Synergistic Allocation of Flight Expertise on the Flight Deck (SAFEdeck): A Design Concept to Combat Mode Confusion, Complacency, and Skill Loss in the Flight Deck
This paper presents a new design and function allocation philosophy between pilots and automation that seeks to support the human in mitigating innate weaknesses (e.g., memory, vigilance) while enhancing their strengths (e.g., adaptability, resourcefulness). In this new allocation strategy, called Synergistic Allocation of Flight Expertise in the Flight Deck (SAFEdeck), the automation and the human provide complementary support and backup for each other. Automation is designed to be compliant with the practices of Crew Resource Management. The human takes a more active role in the normal operation of the aircraft without adversely increasing workload over the current automation paradigm. This designed involvement encourages the pilot to be engaged and ready to respond to unexpected situations. As such, the human may be less prone to error than the current automation paradigm.
Schutte, Paul↗
Safety Analysis of FMS/CTAS Interactions During Aircraft Arrivals
This grant funded research on human-computer interaction design and analysis techniques, using future ATC environments as a testbed. The basic approach was to model the nominal behavior of both the automated and human procedures and then to apply safety analysis techniques to these models. Our previous modeling language, RSML, had been used to specify the system requirements for TCAS II for the FAA. Using the lessons learned from this experience, we designed a new modeling language that (among other things) incorporates features to assist in designing less error-prone human-computer interactions and interfaces and in detecting potential HCI problems, such as mode confusion. The new language, SpecTRM-RL, uses "intent" abstractions, based on Rasmussen's abstraction hierarchy, and includes both informal (English and graphical) specifications and formal, executable models for specifying various aspects of the system. One of the goals for our language was to highlight the system modes and mode changes to assist in identifying the potential for mode confusion. Three published papers resulted from this research. The first builds on the work of Degani on mode confusion to identify aspects of the system design that could lead to potential hazards. We defined and modeled modes differently than Degani and also defined design criteria for SpecTRM-RL models. Our design criteria include the Degani criteria but extend them to include more potential problems. In a second paper, Leveson and Palmer showed how the criteria for indirect mode transitions could be applied to a mode confusion problem found in several ASRS reports for the MD-88. In addition, we defined a visual task modeling language that can be used by system designers to model human-computer interaction. The visual models can be translated into SpecTRM-RL models, and then the SpecTRM-RL suite of analysis tools can be used to perform formal and informal safety analyses on the task model in isolation or integrated with the rest of the modeled system. We had hoped to be able to apply these modeling languages and analysis tools to a TAP air/ground trajectory negotiation scenario, but the development of the tools took more time than we anticipated.
Nancy G. Leveson↗
Controlling the Interface between Salts, Solvates, Co-crystals, and Ionic Liquids with Non-stoichiometric Protic Azolium Azolates [Plus Supporting Information]
In this work, a non-stoichiometric approach to control the solid-state behavior of protic ionic liquids (PILs) was demonstrated by direct mixing of 4,5-dicyanoimidazole (HDCNim) with either 1-ethylimidazole (C 2 im) or 1-butylimidazole (C 4 im) in different mole fractions. Isolation and characterization of three crystalline materials (all having melting points < 100 °C, thus fitting the PIL definition) revealed three different but closely related systems. The structure of [HC 2 im][DCNim] consists of a confused proton system, which is so named for the fast proton exchange between basic and acidic fragments and the formation of hydrogen-bonded anionic oligomers. The compound [HC 2 im][DCNim]·HDCNim consists of an oligomeric delocalized anion (a confused proton located between two azole fragments, in which one acts as a neutral moiety while the other as an ionic fragment, DCNim-H-DCNim) and [HC 4 im][DCNim]·HDCNim can be classified as a salt co-crystal. We believe that these observations will allow a deeper understanding of the behavior of “confused protons” and provide additional strategies for controlling the properties of important classes of materials such as active pharmaceutical ingredients.
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗