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At least 379 records · Page 21

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NASA NTRS2014

Robust Modal Filtering and Control of the X-56A Model with Simulated Fiber Optic Sensor Failures

The X-56A aircraft is a remotely-piloted aircraft with flutter modes intentionally designed into the flight envelope. The X-56A program must demonstrate flight control while suppressing all unstable modes. A previous X-56A model study demonstrated a distributed-sensing-based active shape and active flutter suppression controller. The controller relies on an estimator which is sensitive to bias. This estimator is improved herein, and a real-time robust estimator is derived and demonstrated on 1530 fiber optic sensors. It is shown in simulation that the estimator can simultaneously reject 230 worst-case fiber optic sensor failures automatically. These sensor failures include locations with high leverage (or importance). To reduce the impact of leverage outliers, concentration based on a Mahalanobis trim criterion is introduced. A redescending M-estimator with Tukey bisquare weights is used to improve location and dispersion estimates within each concentration step in the presence of asymmetry (or leverage). A dynamic simulation is used to compare the concentrated robust estimator to a state-of-the-art real-time robust multivariate estimator. The estimators support a previously-derived mu-optimal shape controller. It is found that during the failure scenario, the concentrated modal estimator keeps the system stable.

Modal Filtering↗

NASA NTRS2016

Robust Modal Filtering and Control of the X-56A Model with Simulated Fiber Optic Sensor Failures

Modal Filtering↗

NASA NTRS2003

Prognostics Methodology for Complex Systems

An automatic method to schedule maintenance and repair of complex systems is produced based on a computational structure called the Informed Maintenance Grid (IMG). This method provides solutions to the two fundamental problems in autonomic logistics: (1) unambiguous detection of deterioration or impending loss of function and (2) determination of the time remaining to perform maintenance or other corrective action based upon information from the system. The IMG provides a health determination over the medium-to-longterm operation of the system, from one or more days to years of study. The IMG is especially applicable to spacecraft and both piloted and autonomous aircraft, or industrial control processes.

Gulati, Sandeep↗

NASA NTRS2016

Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) System for Ownership and Traffic Situational Awareness

The present invention proposes an automatic dependent surveillance broadcast (ADS-B) architecture and process, in which priority aircraft and ADS-B IN traffic information are included in the transmission of data through the telemetry communications to a remote ground control station. The present invention further proposes methods for displaying general aviation traffic information in three and/or four dimension trajectories using an industry standard Earth browser for increased situation awareness and enhanced visual acquisition of traffic for conflict detection. The present invention enable the applications of enhanced visual acquisition of traffic, traffic alerts, and en-route and terminal surveillance used to augment pilot situational awareness through ADS-B IN display and information in three or four dimensions for self-separation awareness.

Arteaga, Ricardo A.↗

NASA NTRS1995

New applications for the EUTELTRACS service

The EUTELTRACS two-way Mobile Satellite Messaging and Automatic Satellite Position Reporting (ASPR) service is Europe's first commercially operated Mobile Satellite Service. It was introduced by the European Telecommunications Satellite Organization (EUTELSAT) for commercial service in 1991. The system is based on a centralized network architecture organized around a single hub station operated by EUTELSAT. Initially the system was designed with a close user group architecture enabling a mobile user to communicate exclusively with its own headquarters. This paper describes the new applications (design and tests prior to their introduction into service) especially developed for the European market and particularly the Double Hop Services opening the system to authorized external entities. In addition, the European Commission (EC) pilot demonstrations in which the EUTELTRACS system is involved are described.

Colcy, Jean-Noel↗

NASA NTRS1995

Flight demonstration of integrated airport surface automation concepts

A flight demonstration was conducted to address airport surface movement area capacity issues by providing pilots with enhanced situational awareness information. The demonstration showed an integration of several technologies to government and industry representatives. These technologies consisted of an electronic moving map display in the cockpit, a Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) receiver, a high speed VHF data link, an ASDE-3 radar, and the Airport Movement Area Safety System (AMASS). Aircraft identification was presented to an air traffic controller on AMASS. The onboard electronic map included the display of taxi routes, hold instructions, and clearances, which were sent to the aircraft via data link by the controller. The map also displayed the positions of other traffic and warning information, which were sent to the aircraft automatically from the ASDE-3/AMASS system. This paper describes the flight demonstration in detail, along with preliminary results.

Jones, Denise R.↗

NASA NTRS1995

Flight Demonstration of Integrated Airport Surface Automation Concepts

Jones, Denise R.↗

NASA NTRS1988

A flight test design for studying airborne applications of air to ground duplex data link communications

The Automatic En Route Air Traffic Control (AERA) and the Advanced Automated System (AAS) of the NAS plan, call for utilization of data links for such items as computer generated flight clearances, enroute minimum safe altitude warnings, sector probes, out of conformance check, automated flight services, and flow management of advisories. A major technical challenge remaining is the integration, flight testing, and validation of data link equipment and procedures in the aircraft cockpit. The flight test organizational chart, was designed to have the airplane side of data link experiments implemented in the NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) experimental Boeing 737 airplane. This design would enable investigations into implementation of data link equipment and pilot interface, operations, and procedures. The illustrated ground system consists of a work station with links to a national weather database and a data link transceiver system. The data link transceiver system could be a Mode-S transponder, ACARS, AVSAT, or another type of radio system such as the military type HF data link. The airborne system was designed so that a data link transceiver, workstation, and touch panel could be interfaced with an input output processor to the aircraft system bus and thus have communications access to other digital airplane systems.

Scanlon, Charles H.↗

NASA NTRS1977

The development of advanced automatic flare and decrab for powered lift short haul aircraft using a microwave landing system

Advanced automatic flare and decrab control laws were developed for future powered lift STOL aircraft using the NASA-C-8A augmentor wing vehicle as the aircraft model. The longitudinal control laws utilize the throttle for flight path control and use the direct lift augmentor flap chokes for flight path augmentation. The elevator is used to control airspeed during the approach phase and to enhance path control during the flare. The forward slip maneuver was selected over the flat decrab technique for runway alignment because it can effectively handle the large crab angles obtained at STOL approach speeds. Performance evaluation of selected system configurations were obtained over the total landing environment. Limitations were defined and critical failure modes assessed. Pilot display concepts are discussed.

Gevaert, G.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Application of LANDSAT data to the study of urban development in Brasilia

The urban growth of Brasilia within the last ten years is analyzed with special emphasis on the utilization of remote sensing orbital data and automatic image processing. The urban spatial structure and the monitoring of its temporal changes were examined in a whole and dynamic way by the utilization of MSS-LANDSAT images for June (1973, 1978 and 1983). In order to aid data interpretation, a registration algorithm implemented in the Interactive Multispectral Image Analysis System (IMAGE-100) was utilized aiming at the overlap of multitemporal images. The utilization of suitable digital filters, combined with the images overlap, allowed a rapid identification of areas of possible urban growth and oriented the field work. The results obtained in this work permitted an evaluation of the urban growth of Brasilia, taking as reference the proposal stated for the construction of the city in the Pilot Plan elaborated by Lucio Costa.

Parada, N. D. J.↗

NASA NTRS1998

Flight Demonstration of Integrated Airport Surface Technologies for Increased Capacity and Safety

A flight demonstration was conducted to address airport surface movement area capacity and safety issues by providing pilots with enhanced situational awareness information. The demonstration presented an integration of several technologies to government and industry representatives. These technologies consisted of an electronic moving map display in the cockpit, a Differential Global Positioning system (DGPS) receiver, a high speed very high frequency (VHF) data link, an Airport Surface Detection Equipment (ASDE-3) radar, and the Airport Movement Area Safety System (AMASS). Aircraft identification was presented to an air traffic controller on an AMASS display. The onboard electronic map included the display of taxi routes, hold instructions, and clearances, which were sent to the aircraft via data link by the controller. The map also displayed the positions of other traffic and warning information, which were sent to the aircraft automatically from the ASDE-3/AMASS system. This paper describes the flight demonstration in detail, along with test results.

Jones, Denise R.↗

NASA NTRS2015

Bayesian Safety Risk Modeling of Human-Flightdeck Automation Interaction

Usage of automatic systems in airliners has increased fuel efficiency, added extra capabilities, enhanced safety and reliability, as well as provide improved passenger comfort since its introduction in the late 80's. However, original automation benefits, including reduced flight crew workload, human errors or training requirements, were not achieved as originally expected. Instead, automation introduced new failure modes, redistributed, and sometimes increased workload, brought in new cognitive and attention demands, and increased training requirements. Modern airliners have numerous flight modes, providing more flexibility (and inherently more complexity) to the flight crew. However, the price to pay for the increased flexibility is the need for increased mode awareness, as well as the need to supervise, understand, and predict automated system behavior. Also, over-reliance on automation is linked to manual flight skill degradation and complacency in commercial pilots. As a result, recent accidents involving human errors are often caused by the interactions between humans and the automated systems (e.g., the breakdown in man-machine coordination), deteriorated manual flying skills, and/or loss of situational awareness due to heavy dependence on automated systems. This paper describes the development of the increased complexity and reliance on automation baseline model, named FLAP for FLightdeck Automation Problems. The model development process starts with a comprehensive literature review followed by the construction of a framework comprised of high-level causal factors leading to an automation-related flight anomaly. The framework was then converted into a Bayesian Belief Network (BBN) using the Hugin Software v7.8. The effects of automation on flight crew are incorporated into the model, including flight skill degradation, increased cognitive demand and training requirements along with their interactions. Besides flight crew deficiencies, automation system failures and anomalies of avionic systems are also incorporated. The resultant model helps simulate the emergence of automation-related issues in today's modern airliners from a top-down, generalized approach, which serves as a platform to evaluate NASA developed technologies

Ancel, Ersin↗

NASA NTRS1998

STS-90 Day 14 Highlights

On this fourteenth day of the STS-90 mission, the flight crew, Cmdr. Richard A. Searfoss, Pilot Scott D. Altman, and Mission Specialists Richard M. Linnehan, Dafydd Rhys Williams and Kathryn P. Hire, and Payload Specialists Jay C. Buckey and James A. Pawelczyk focus on the efforts of Neurolab's Neuronal Plasticity Team to better understand how the adult nervous system adapts to the new environment of space. Columbia's science crew -- Mission Specialists Rick Linnehan and Dave Williams and Payload Specialists Jay Buckey and Jim Pawelczyk -- perform the second and final in-flight dissections of the adult male rats on board. The crew euthanizes and dissects nine rats and remove the vestibular or balance organs of the inner ear; the cerebellum, the part of the brain critical for maintaining balance and for processing information from the limbs so they can be moved smoothly; and the cerebrum, one part of which controls automatic functions such as body temperature regulation and the body's internal clock, and the cortical region that controls cognitive functions such as thinking. The first dissection, which was performed on the second day of the flight, went extremely well, according to Neurolab scientists.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS2001

Platform-Independence and Scheduling In a Multi-Threaded Real-Time Simulation

Aviation research often relies on real-time, pilot-in-the-loop flight simulation as a means to develop new flight software, flight hardware, or pilot procedures. Often these simulations become so complex that a single processor is incapable of performing the necessary computations within a fixed time-step. Threads are an elegant means to distribute the computational work-load when running on a symmetric multi-processor machine. However, programming with threads often requires operating system specific calls that reduce code portability and maintainability. While a multi-threaded simulation allows a significant increase in the simulation complexity, it also increases the workload of a simulation operator by requiring that the operator determine which models run on which thread. To address these concerns an object-oriented design was implemented in the NASA Langley Standard Real-Time Simulation in C++ (LaSRS++) application framework. The design provides a portable and maintainable means to use threads and also provides a mechanism to automatically load balance the simulation models.

Sugden, Paul P.↗

NASA NTRS1971

Project: Apollo 15

The 12-day Apollo 15 mission, scheduled for launch on July 26 to carry out the fourth United States manned exploration of the Moon, will: Double the time and extend tenfold the range of lunar surface exploration as compared with earlier missions; Deploy the third in a network of automatic scientific stations; Conduct a new group of experiments in lunar orbit; and Return to Earth a variety of lunar rock and soil samples. Scientists expect the results will greatly increase man's knowledge both of the Moon's history and composition and of the evolution and dynamic interaction of the Sun-Earth system. This is so because the dry, airless, lifeless Moon still bears records of solar radiation and the early years of solar system history that have been erased from Earth. Observations of current lunar events also may increase understanding of similar processes on Earth, such as earthquakes. The Apollo 15 Lunar module will make its descent over the Apennine peaks, one of the highest mountain ranges on the Moon, to land near the rim of the canyon-like Hadley Rille. From this Hadley-Apennine lunar base, between the mountain range and the rille, Commander David R. Scott and Lunar Module Pilot James B. Irwin will explore several kilometers from the lunar module, driving an electric-powered lunar roving vehicle for the first time on the Moon. Scott and Irwin will leave the lunar module for three exploration periods to emplace scientific experiments on the lunar surface and to make detailed geologic investigations of formations in the Apennine foothills, along the Hadley Rille rim, and to other geologic structures. The three previous manned landings were made by Apollo 11 at Tranquillity Base, Apollo 12 in the Ocean of Storms and Apollo 14 at Fra Mauro.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS1988

An automated ozone photometer

A photometer capable of automatically measuring ozone concentration data to very high resolution during scientific research flights in the Earth's atmosphere was developed at NASA Ames Research Center. This instrument was recently deployed to study the ozone hole over Antarctica. Ozone is detected by absorbing 253.7-nm radiation from an ultraviolet lamp which shines through the sample of air and impinges on a vacuum phototube. A lower output from the phototube indicates more ozone present in the air sample. The photometer employs a CMOS Z80 microprocessor with an STD bus system for experiment control, data collection, and storage. Data are collected and stored in nonvolatile memory for experiments lasting up to 8 hr. Data are downloaded to a portable ground-support computer and processed after the aircraft lands. An independent single-board computer in the STD bus also calculates ozone concentration in real time with less resolution than the CMOS Z80 system, and sends this value to a cockpit meter to aid the pilot in navigation.

Lavelle, Joseph R.↗

NASA NTRS2005

Automating CapCom Using Mobile Agents and Robotic Assistants

We have developed and tested an advanced EVA communications and computing system to increase astronaut self-reliance and safety, reducing dependence on continuous monitoring and advising from mission control on Earth. This system, called Mobile Agents (MA), is voice controlled and provides information verbally to the astronauts through programs called personal agents. The system partly automates the role of CapCom in Apollo-including monitoring and managing EVA navigation, scheduling, equipment deployment, telemetry, health tracking, and scientific data collection. EVA data are stored automatically in a shared database in the habitat/vehicle and mirrored to a site accessible by a remote science team. The program has been developed iteratively in the context of use, including six years of ethnographic observation of field geology. Our approach is to develop automation that supports the human work practices, allowing people to do what they do well, and to work in ways they are most familiar. Field experiments in Utah have enabled empirically discovering requirements and testing alternative technologies and protocols. This paper reports on the 2004 system configuration, experiments, and results, in which an EVA robotic assistant (ERA) followed geologists approximately 150 m through a winding, narrow canyon. On voice command, the ERA took photographs and panoramas and was directed to move and wait in various locations to serve as a relay on the wireless network. The MA system is applicable to many space work situations that involve creating and navigating from maps (including configuring equipment for local topology), interacting with piloted and unpiloted rovers, adapting to environmental conditions, and remote team collaboration involving people and robots.

Clancey, William J.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

A Natural Language Understanding Approach for Digitizing Aircraft Ground Taxi Instructions

Advancements in natural language processing (NLP) technologies offer a unique opportunity to furnish aircraft crews, primarily pilots, with digital instructions for taxiing operations. Digital taxi instructions, delivered either as text or graphics, can streamline taxiing procedures, thereby reducing radio congestion, minimizing communication errors, and enhancing aircraft monitoring. Techniques used for natural language understanding (NLU), a subset of NLP focused on machine comprehension of natural language, can extract taxi instructions directly from verbal radio communications. This capability paves the way for implementing a digital taxi communication framework with minimal adjustments to the existing air traffic controller operations. This paper delves into a novel application of NLU: the automated generation of digital taxi instructions from air traffic controller speech. We detail the development of an annotation scheme to represent aircraft ground traffic communications within the US National Airspace System (NAS), employing intent classification (IC) and slot filling (SF) to extract taxi instructions using NLU models. Several neural network models were trained on a dataset annotated with our scheme, achieving notable accuracy and F1 scores. Our research demonstrates the feasibility of using NLU to automatically generate digital taxi instructions, showcasing its potential to streamline the implementation of digital taxi communications.

LSTM↗