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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 379 records · Page 21
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1985

Sensor-based fault diagnosis in a flight expert system

A prototype of a knowledge-based flight expert system (FLES) has been developed to assist airplane pilots in monitoring, analyzing, and diagnosing faults and to provide support in reducing the pilot's own mistakes. A sensor simulation model has been developed to provide FLES with the airplane status information during the diagnostic process. The simulator is based partly on the Advanced Concept System (ACS), a future-generation airplane, and partly on the Boeing 737, an existing airplane. The architecture of FLES contains several subsystems. One of the major subsystems performs fault diagnosis in the electrical system of the ACS. This paper describes the mechanism and functionality of the automatic diagnosis performed in this expert system.

Ali, M.↗
NASA NTRS2010

TPSAS-NF1676L-10776-DND

Airborne self-separation (SSEP) among aircraft is proposed as a means for improving air traffic system capacity and safety in the future National Airspace System and for improving the efficiency of flight for all aircraft performing this function. The concept is examined in the U.S. en route domain, in an environment of mixed conventional and SSEP operations. No airspace is set aside for this purpose and the first aircraft equipped to perform the function can receive its benefits. For aircraft operating in the SSEP mode, the Air Navigation Service Provider (ANSP) turns over control and responsibility for all separation tasks to the pilots of SSEP aircraft. This includes separation from all other aircraft, from severe weather hazards and from Special Use Airspace. Connection to the centralized traffic flow management function is retained throughout the flight, however, and compliance with any Required Time of Arrival assignments is maintained. The SSEP function is accomplished in the aircraft through the use of airborne surveillance, data communications and processing equipment, and procedures defined in a new set of operating rules called "Autonomous Flight Rules" (AFR). The technical enablers are Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast (ADS-B), Traffic Information Service - Broadcast (TIS-B), and Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS). This briefing presents an overview of the concept.

Frank Bussink↗
NASA NTRS1979

Perception and performance in flight simulators: The contribution of vestibular, visual, and auditory information

The pilot's perception and performance in flight simulators is examined. The areas investigated include: vestibular stimulation, flight management and man cockpit information interfacing, and visual perception in flight simulation. The effects of higher levels of rotary acceleration on response time to constant acceleration, tracking performance, and thresholds for angular acceleration are examined. Areas of flight management examined are cockpit display of traffic information, work load, synthetic speech call outs during the landing phase of flight, perceptual factors in the use of a microwave landing system, automatic speech recognition, automation of aircraft operation, and total simulation of flight training.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2018

NASA Pilot-Engaged Expert Response Using IBM Watson Technology: Prototype Evaluation of Knowledge Retrieval System

NASA Langley Research Center and IBM have been investigating the use of IBM Watson technology in aerospace research and development. One application of Watson technology is the Pilot-Engaged Expert Response (PEER) use case. The PEER system is envisioned as an in-cockpit advisor that will act as a source of situationally-relevant information for pilots and other flight crew members to assist in decision making about real-time events and situations that arise in the course of aircraft operations. PEER will make available vast stores of knowledge and information quickly and directly, putting important informational resources where they are needed most. IBM has worked with NASA to develop an architecture and articulate a roadmap for the development of the PEER system. That vision is built around Watson Discovery Advisor (WDA) software solution, derived from IBM's Jeopardy!-winning automatic question answering system. PEER makes use of WDA's sophisticated question-answering capabilities as its core, adding important User Interface components and other customizations for the cockpit environment, including communication with flight systems and other external data sources. The development plan for PEER includes four development stages, with the current project constituting the first phase. In this project, a prototype instance of PEER was successfully adapted to the aviation domain, enabling users to ask questions about aviation topics and receive useful and accurate answers to these questions. Major tasks accomplished include the development of procedures for domain adaptation through automatic lexicon extraction from domain glossaries; generation of question-answer training data which was used to train the system; and assessment of the effectiveness of domain adaptation, which showed a dramatic improvement in the ability of the PEER system to answer domain-relevant questions. In addition, the vision for the PEER system was pushed forward by the articulation of a plan for the automatic enhancement of question-answering with contextual information. This initial phase focused on two main goals: 1) the targeted domain adaptation of the underlying WDA system to the aviation domain; and, 2) the design of the software systems needed to leverage flight-contextual data. Domain adaptation of the WDA system proceeds via three main activities: Domain data ingestion, lexical customization and model training. A textual corpus consisting of 1,147 individual documents with more than 7.5 million words of text was ingested into the system and this served as the basis of all further development. A domain lexicon of over 3,500 aviation-domain terms was semi-automatically generated from domain documents and used to train the system. In addition, a set of over 500 question-answer (QA) pairs relevant to the PEER use case was developed; these were used to train and assess the system. These important first steps established the basis for the PEER system. In addition, steps were taken towards the integration of the PEER system into the cockpit environment with the development of a functional design for the Contextual Data Augmentation (CDA) subsystem. This subsystem brings to bear contextual data to improve system responses. It has three main submodules: the Contextual Data Collection module, the Contextual Data Selection module, and the Contextual QA Augmentation module. These modules form a processing pipeline that addresses the problems associated with automatically integrating information from external resources into the knowledge-retrieval mechanism.

Machine learning↗
NASA NTRS2006

Cooperative Collision Avoidance Step 1 - Technology Demonstration Flight Test Report. Revision 1

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Access 5 Project Office sponsored a cooperative collision avoidance flight demonstration program for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). This flight test was accomplished between September 21st and September 27th 2005 from the Mojave Airport, Mojave, California. The objective of these flights was to collect data for the Access 5 Cooperative Collision Avoidance (CCA) Work Package simulation effort, i.e., to gather data under select conditions to allow validation of the CCA simulation. Subsequent simulation to be verified were: Demonstrate the ability to detect cooperative traffic and provide situational awareness to the ROA pilot; Demonstrate the ability to track the detected cooperative traffic and provide position information to the ROA pilot; Demonstrate the ability to determine collision potential with detected cooperative traffic and provide notification to the ROA pilot; Demonstrate that the CCA subsystem provides information in sufficient time for the ROA pilot to initiate an evasive maneuver to avoid collision; Demonstrate an evasive maneuver that avoids collision with the threat aircraft; and lastly, Demonstrate the ability to assess the adequacy of the maneuver and determine that the collision potential has been avoided. The Scaled Composites, LLC Proteus Optionally Piloted Vehicle (OPV) was chosen as the test platform. Proteus was manned by two on-board pilots but was also capable of being controlled from an Air Vehicle Control Station (AVCS) located on the ground. For this demonstration, Proteus was equipped with cooperative collision sensors and the required hardware and software to place the data on the downlink. Prior to the flight phase, a detailed set of flight test scenarios were developed to address the flight test objectives. Two cooperative collision avoidance sensors were utilized for detecting aircraft in the evaluation: Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System-II (TCAS-II) and Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B). A single intruder aircraft was used during all the flight testing, a NASA Gulfstream III (G-III). During the course of the testing, six geometrically different near-collision scenarios were evaluated. These six scenarios were each tested using various combinations of sensors and collision avoidance software. Of the 54 planned test points 49 were accomplished successfully. Proteus flew a total of 21.5 hours during the testing and the G-III flew 19.8 hours. The testing fully achieved all flight test objectives. The Flight IPT performed an analysis to determine the accuracy of the simulation model used to predict the location of the host aircraft downstream during an avoidance maneuver. The data collected by this flight program was delivered to the Access 5 Cooperative Collision Avoidance (CCA) Work Package Team who was responsible for reporting on their analysis of this flight data.

Trongale, Nicholas A.↗
NASA NTRS1988

The poststall nonlinear dynamics and control of an F-18: A preliminary investigation

The successful high angle of attack (HAOA) operation of fighter aircraft will necessarily require the introduction of a new onboard control methodology that address the nonlinearity of the system when flown at the stall/poststall limits of the craft's flight envelope. As a precursor to this task, a researcher endeavored to familarize himself with the dynamics of one specific aircraft, the F-18, when it is flown at HAOA. This was accomplished by conducting a number of real time flight sorties using the NASA-Langley Research Center's F-18 simulator, which was operated with a pilot in the loop. In addition to developing a first hand familarity with the aircraft's dynamic characteristic at HAOA, work was also performed to identify the input/output operational footprint of the F-18's control surfaces. This investigator proposes to employ the nonlinear models of the plant identified this summer in a subsequent research effort that will make it possible to fly the F-18 effectively at poststall angles of attack. The controller design used there will rely on a new technique proposed by this investigator that provides for the automatic generation of online optimal control solutions for nonlinear dynamic systems.

Patten, William N.↗
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

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↗
DOE OSTI2020

Exploiting CRIC to streamline the configuration management of GlideinWMS factories for CMS support

GlideinWMS is a workload management and provisioning system that allows sharing computing resources distributed over independent sites. Based on the requests made by GlideinWMS frontends, a dynamically sized pool of resources is created by GlideinWMS pilot factories via pilot job submission to resource sites’ CEs. More than 400 CEs are currently serving more than ten virtual organizations through GlideinWMS, with CMS being the biggest user with 230 CEs. The complex configurations of the parameters defining resource requests, as submitted to those CEs, have been historically managed by manually editing a set of different XML files. New possibilities arise with CMS adopting the CRIC, an information system that collects, aggregates, stores, and exposes, among other things, computing resource data coming from various data providers. The paper will describe the challenges faced when CMS started to use CRIC to automatically generate the GlideinWMS factory configurations. The architecture of the prototype, and the ancillary tools developed to ease this transition, will be discussed. Finally, future plans and milestones will be outlined.

Dost, Jeffrey↗
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

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 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.↗