SEARCH · Search NASA
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.
Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.
This presentation reviewed basic interfaces and considerations necessary for prototype suit hardware integration from an advanced spacesuit engineer perspective during the early design and test phases. The discussion included such topics such as the human interface, suit pass-throughs, keep-out zones, hardware form factors, subjective feedback from suit tests, and electricity in the suit.
NASA is developing a new hybrid-electric aircraft concept called the SUbsonic Single Aft eNgine (SUSAN) Electrofan. The SUSAN airplane is being designed as a 180-passenger commercial regional jet and is expected to fly in the 2040 time frame. The flight deck of the SUSAN airplane is expected to resemble a typical two flightcrew transport. Research issues include pilot control and the display elements needed for the hybrid-electric propulsion system. This paper describes a research study conducted in a high-fidelity simulator where 14 commercial pilots evaluated throttle controls and engine display concepts for a proposed SUSAN flight deck.
The primary objective of this study is to determine which biomedical and human factors measurements must be made aboard a space station to assure adequate evaluation of the astronaut's health and performance during prolonged space flights. The study has employed, where possible, a medical and engineering systems analysis to define the pertinent life sciences and space station design parameters and their influence on a measurement program. The major areas requiring evaluation in meeting the study objectives include a definition of the space environment, man's response to the environment, selection of measurement and data management techniques, experimental program, space station design requirements, and a trade-off analysis with final recommendations. The space environment factors that are believed to have a significant effect on man were evaluated. This includes those factors characteristic of the space environment (e. g. weightlessness, radiation) as well as those created within the space station (e. g. toxic contaminants, capsule atmosphere). After establishing the general features of the environment, an appraisal was made of the anticipated response of the astronaut to each of these factors. For thoroughness, the major organ systems and functions of the body were delineated, and a determination was made of their anticipated response to each of the environmental categories. A judgment was then made on the medical significance or importance of each response, which enabled a determination of which physiological and psychological effects should be monitored. Concurrently, an extensive list of measurement techniques and methods of data management was evaluated for applicability to the space station program. The various space station configurations and design parameters were defined in terms of the biomedical and human factors requirements to provide the measurements program. Research design of experimental programs for various station configurations, mission durations, and crew sizes were prepared, and, finally, a trade-off analysis of the critical variables in the station planning was completed with recommendations to enhance the confidence in the measurement program.
Proximity operations (Prox-Ops) on-orbit refers to all activities taking place within one km of the Space Station. Designing a Prox-Ops control station calls for a comprehensive systems approach which takes into account structural constraints, orbital dynamics including approach/departure flight paths, myriad human factors and other topics. This paper describes a reconfigurable full-scale mock-up of a Prox-Ops station constructed at Ames incorporating an array of windows (with dynamic star field, target vehicle(s), and head-up symbology), head-down perspective display of manned and unmanned vehicles, voice- actuated 'electronic checklist', computer-generated voice system, expert system (to help diagnose subsystem malfunctions), and other displays and controls. The facility is used for demonstrations of selected Prox-Ops approach scenarios, human factors research (work-load assessment, determining external vision envelope requirements, head-down and head-up symbology design, voice synthesis and recognition research, etc.) and development of engineering design guidelines for future module interiors.
An engineering approach to enlarge the helmet mounted display (HMD) field of view (FOV) and maintain resolution and weight by partially overlapping the binocular FOV has received renewed interest among human factors scientists. It is evident, based on the brief literature review, that any panoramic display with a binocular overlap, less than a minimum amount, annoys the viewer, degrades performance, and elicits undesirable behavior. The major finding is that across the 60 deg conditions, subjects moved their heads a greater distance (by about 5 degs on each side) than in the 180 deg condition, presumably to compensate for the lack of FOV. It is quite clear that the study, based on simple car maneuverability and two subjects, reveals differences in FOV, but nothing significant between binocular overlap levels and configurations. This tentatively indicates that some tradeoffs of binocular vision for a larger overall display FOV are acceptable.
It is appropriate here to repeat the analogy described in the introduction to this paper which is that: The consideration of human factors requirements during the design stage of advanced, new technology systems may be seen as resting over a three-legged stool. The first leg, the equipment that a system will utilize to achieve its goals, has traditionally attracted ergonomic considerations associated with equipment design, usually centered around 'knobs and dials.' Lately, this view has expanded to include the so-called other important aspect of Human Factor's study which deals with the cognitive, behaviorial and social processes of the human operators. Study in this area must be furthered. The second leg of the stool, the procedures to operate the equipment, however, has been largely unaddressed. Procedures are not inherent to equipment, but must be developed. The importance of proper human factors consideration in the design of procedures can not be overstated. Lastly, the third leg of the stool, the certification of personnel who will operate the equipment, is very much underway, but far from being complete. The real quest now, however, is to integrate these three legs into an indivisible one. Finally, and most importantly, this workshop and its topic are extremely timely in that we are at the dawn of the most ambitious development ever undertaken in international civil aviation. This would allow us the rather unique opportunity to put theory into practice in the near future by ensuring that the concepts developed and furthered by this workshop and the follow-up are implemented in the design and certification of the ICAO future CNS/ATM systems described earlier in this paper. Now is the time to incorporate human factors requirements during the certification processes of these systems. This might act as a test to the feasibility of these ideas. Such endeavors represent a challenge for the research, engineering, training, operational and regulatory communities. But there is certainly more to be gained by attempting to meet the challenge rather than refraining from progress by decrying the difficulties involved.
Today, the tools are in our hands to enable us to travel away from our home planet and become citizens of the solar system. Even now, we are seriously beginning to develop the robust infrastructure that will make the 21st century the Century of Space Travel. But this bold step must be taken with due concern for the health, safety and wellbeing of future space explorers. Our long experience with space biomedical research convinces us that, if we are to deal effectively with the medical and biomedical issues of exploration, then dramatic and bold steps are also necessary in this field. We can no longer treat the human body as if it were composed of muscles, bones, heart and brain acting independently. Instead, we must lead the effort to develop a fully integrated view of the body, with all parts connected and fully interacting in a realistic way. This paper will present the status of current (2000) plans by the National Space Biomedical Research Institute to initiate research in this area of integrative physiology and medicine. Specifically, three example projects are discussed as potential stepping stones towards the ultimate goal of producing a digital human. These projects relate to developing a functional model of the human musculoskeletal system and the heart. c2002 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Since torque in harmonic drives is transmitted by a pure couple, harmonic drives do not generate radial forces and therefore can be instrumented with torque sensors without interference from radial forces. The installation of torque sensors on the stationary component of harmonic drives (the Flexipline cup in this research work) produce backdrivability needed for robotic and telerobotic compliant maneuvers. Backdrivability of a harmonic drive, when used as torque increaser, means that the output shaft can be rotated via finite amount of torque. A high ratio harmonic drive is non-backdrivable because its output shaft cannot be turned by applying a torque on it. This article first develops the dynamic behavior of a harmonic drive, in particular the non-backdrivability, in terms of a sensitivity transfer function. The instrumentation of the harmonic drive with torque sensor is then described. This leads to a description of the control architecture which allows modulation of the sensitivity transfer function within the limits established by the closed-loop stability. A set of experiments on an active hand controller, powered by a DC motor coupled to an instrumented harmonic drive, is given to exhibit this method's limitations.
Human operators play a major role in the resilience of complex systems–while human error is one of the biggest contributors to hazardous events, operators additionally play a critical role in mitigating hazardous events. A key factor underlying this operator resilience is situation awareness–the ability of operators to understand their environment and each other to achieve desired system functions. In contrast to situation awareness-related accident models in the literature, which are largely conceptual in nature, this work proposes the use of a dynamic simulation framework to concretely model both the effects of situation awareness-related human errors and situation awareness-related hazard-mitigating properties using the distributed situation awareness theory. This work then presents specialized model constructs to enable agents’ individual perceptions of the system state and transactions with other agents (and thus distributed situation awareness) to be represented in simulation. To demonstrate this framework, it is then adapted to an aircraft taxiway case study, where it is used to model aircraft conflicts due to lack of vision and poor communications from the air traffic controller. This demonstration shows the potential of using simulation models to rigorously understand situation awareness-related human errors and thus inform the design of resilience.
Design image-optimization for helmet-mounted displays (HMDs) for military systems is presently discussed within the framework of a systems-engineering approach that encompasses (1) a description of natural targets in the field; (2) the characteristics of human visual perception; and (3) device specifications that directly relate to these ecological and human-factors parameters. Attention is given to target size and contrast and the relationship of the modulation transfer function to image resolution.
The Senior Aerospace System Design class at the University of Michigan undertook the design of a manned space transportation vehicle (STV) that would transport payloads between low earth orbit (LEO) and geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO). Designated ARGO after the ship of the Greek adventurer Jason, two different versions of an STV that would be based, refueled, and serviced at the Space Station Freedom were designed and analyzed by the class. With the same 2-man/7-day nominal mission of transporting a 10,000-kg payload up to GEO and bringing a 5000-kg payload back to LEO, the two versions of ARGO differ in the manner in which the delta V is applied to insert the vehicle into LEO upon return from GEO. The all-propulsive ARGO (or CSTV for chemical STV) uses thrust from its LH2/LOX rocket engines to produce the delta V during all phases of its mission. While the aeroassisted ARGO (or ASTV for aeroassisted STV) also uses the same engines for the majority of the mission, the final delta V used to insert the ASTV into LEO is produced by skimming the Earth's atmosphere and using the drag on the vehicle to apply the required delta V. This procedure allows for large propellant, and thus cost, savings, but creates many design problems such as the high heating rates and decelerations experienced by a vehicle moving through the atmosphere at hypersonic velocities. The design class, consisting of 43 senior aerospace engineering students, was divided into one managerial and eight technical groups. The technical groups consisted of spacecraft configuration and integration, mission analysis, atmospheric flight, propulsion, power and communications, life support and human factors, logistics and support, and systems analysis. Two committees were set up with members from each group to create the scale models of the STV's and to produce the final report.
For entertainment applications, a successful virtual experience based on a head-mounted display (HMD) needs to overcome some or all of the following problems: entering a virtual world is a jarring experience, people do not naturally turn their heads or talk to each other while wearing an HMD, putting on the equipment is hard, and people do not realize when the experience is over. In the Electric Garden at SIGGRAPH 97, we presented the Mad Hatter's Tea Party, a shared virtual environment experienced by more than 1,500 SIGGRAPH attendees. We addressed these HMD-related problems with a combination of back story, see-through HMDs, virtual characters, continuity of real and virtual objects, and the layout of the physical and virtual environments.
In the field of aeronautics and astronautics, a paradigm shift has been witnessed by those in academia, research and development, and private industry. Long development life cycles and the budgets to support such programs and projects has given way to aggressive task schedules and leaner resources to draw from all the while challenging assigned individuals to create and produce improved products of processes. however, this "faster, better, cheaper" concept cannot merely be applied to the design, development, and test of complex systems such as earth-orbiting of interplanetary robotic spacecraft. Full advantage is not possible without due consideration and application to mission operations planning and flight operations, Equally as important as the flight system, the mission operations system consisting of qualified personnel, ground hardware and software tools, and verified and validated operational processes, should also be regarded as a complex system requiring personnel to draw upon formal education, training, related experiences, and heuristic reasoning in engineering an effective and efficient system. Unquestionably, qualified personnel are the most important elements of a mission operations system. This paper examines the experiences of the Deep Space I Project, the first in a series of new technology in-flight validation missions sponsored by the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), specifically, in developing a subsystems analysis and technology validation team comprised of former spacecraft development personnel. Human factor considerations are investigated from initial concept/vision formulation; through operational process development; personnel test and training; to initial uplink product development and test support. Emphasis has been placed on challenges and applied or recommended solutions, so as to provide opportunities for future programs and projects to address and disposition potential issues and concerns as early as possible to reap the benefits associated with learning from other's past experiences.
The methodology required for the development of the 'intelligent system architecture' of distributed computer systems which integrate standard data processing capabilities with symbolic processing to provide powerful and highly autonomous adaptive processing capabilities must encompass three elements: (1) a design knowledge capture system, (2) computer-aided engineering, and (3) verification and validation metrics and tests. Emphasis must be put on the earliest possible definition of system requirements and the realistic definition of allowable system uncertainties. Methodologies must also address human factor issues.
Mission Operations and Command Assurance (MO&CA) is a Total Quality Management (TQM) task on JPL projects to instill quality in flight mission operations. From a system engineering view, MO&CA facilitates communication and problem-solving among flight teams and provides continuous solving among flight teams and provides continuous process improvement to reduce risk in mission operations by addressing human factors. The MO&CA task has evolved from participating as a member of the spacecraft team, to an independent team reporting directly to flight project management and providing system level assurance. JPL flight projects have benefited significantly from MO&CA's effort to contain risk and prevent rather than rework errors. MO&CA's ability to provide direct transfer of knowledge allows new projects to benefit from previous and ongoing flight experience.
This is a listing of recent unclassified RTO technical publications processed by the NASA Center for AeroSpace Information from January 1, 2001 through March 31, 2001 available on the NASA Aeronautics and Space Database. Contents include 1) Cognitive Task Analysis; 2) RTO Educational Notes; 3) The Capability of Virtual Reality to Meet Military Requirements; 4) Aging Engines, Avionics, Subsystems and Helicopters; 5) RTO Meeting Proceedings; 6) RTO Technical Reports; 7) Low Grazing Angle Clutter...; 8) Verification and Validation Data for Computational Unsteady Aerodynamics; 9) Space Observation Technology; 10) The Human Factor in System Reliability...; 11) Flight Control Design...; 12) Commercial Off-the-Shelf Products in Defense Applications.
Two experiments examined perceived spatial orientation in a small environment as a function of experiencing that environment under three conditions: real-world, desktop-display (DD), and head-mounted display (HMD). Across the three conditions, participants acquired two targets located on a perimeter surrounding them, and attempted to remember the relative locations of the targets. Subsequently, participants were tested on how accurately and consistently they could point in the remembered direction of a previously seen target. Results showed that participants were significantly more consistent in the real-world and HMD conditions than in the DD condition. Further, it is shown that the advantages observed in the HMD and real-world conditions were not simply due to nonspatial response strategies. These results suggest that the additional idiothetic information afforded in the real-world and HMD conditions is useful for orientation purposes in our presented task domain. Our results are relevant to interface design issues concerning tasks that require spatial search, navigation, and visualization.
Advances in high-end graphics computers in the past decade have made it possible to render visual scenes of incredible complexity and realism in real time. These new capabilities make it possible to manipulate and investigate the interactions of observers with their visual world in ways once only dreamed of. This paper reviews how these developments have affected two preexisting domains of behavioral research (flight simulation and motion perception) and have created a new domain (virtual environment research) which provides tools and challenges for the perceptual psychologist. Finally, the current limitations of these technologies are considered, with an eye toward how perceptual psychologist might shape future developments.