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At least 379 records · Page 21

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NASA NTRS2008

Spaceborne Processor Array

A Spaceborne Processor Array in Multifunctional Structure (SPAMS) can lower the total mass of the electronic and structural overhead of spacecraft, resulting in reduced launch costs, while increasing the science return through dynamic onboard computing. SPAMS integrates the multifunctional structure (MFS) and the Gilgamesh Memory, Intelligence, and Network Device (MIND) multi-core in-memory computer architecture into a single-system super-architecture. This transforms every inch of a spacecraft into a sharable, interconnected, smart computing element to increase computing performance while simultaneously reducing mass. The MIND in-memory architecture provides a foundation for high-performance, low-power, and fault-tolerant computing. The MIND chip has an internal structure that includes memory, processing, and communication functionality. The Gilgamesh is a scalable system comprising multiple MIND chips interconnected to operate as a single, tightly coupled, parallel computer. The array of MIND components shares a global, virtual name space for program variables and tasks that are allocated at run time to the distributed physical memory and processing resources. Individual processor- memory nodes can be activated or powered down at run time to provide active power management and to configure around faults. A SPAMS system is comprised of a distributed Gilgamesh array built into MFS, interfaces into instrument and communication subsystems, a mass storage interface, and a radiation-hardened flight computer.

Chow, Edward T.↗

NASA NTRS1977

Photon counting processor for laser velocimetry

In some of the more difficult applications of laser Doppler velocimetry such as in combustion research, transonic flow, transverse wind, and others, the optical signals are too small for classical detection methods. This paper summarizes the theory, experimental prototype hardware, and test results for a new type of high-speed photon-correlation signal processor which is being developed for weak laser velocimeter signals and other photon-resolved signals. The new system may also be considered to be a statistical digital frequency discriminator. It uses full multiplication with 10-nsec delay time and has the potential for extension to the measurement of the velocity correlations and spectra.

Mayo, W. T., Jr.↗

NASA NTRS1990

A scheme for supporting distributed data structures on multicomputers

A data migration mechanism is proposed that allows an explicit and controlled mapping of data to memory. While read or write copies of each data element can be assigned to any processor's memory, longer term storage of each data element is assigned to a specific location in the memory of a particular processor. The proposed integration of a data migration scheme with a compiler is able to eliminate the migration of unneeded data that can occur in multiprocessor paging or caching. The overhead of adjudicating multiple concurrent writes to the same page or cache line is also eliminated. Data is presented that suggests that the scheme may be a pratical method for efficiently supporting data migration.

Hiranandani, Seema↗

NASA NTRS2005

Stripline/Microstrip Transition in Multilayer Circuit Board

A stripline-to-microstrip transition has been incorporated into a multilayer circuit board that supports a distributed solid-state microwave power amplifier, for the purpose of coupling the microwave signal from a buried-layer stripline to a top-layer microstrip. The design of the transition could be adapted to multilayer circuit boards in such products as cellular telephones (for connecting between circuit-board signal lines and antennas), transmitters for Earth/satellite communication systems, and computer mother boards (if processor speeds increase into the range of tens of gigahertz). The transition is designed to satisfy the following requirements in addition to the basic coupling requirement described above: (1) The transition must traverse multiple layers, including intermediate layers that contain DC circuitry. (2) The transition must work at a frequency of 32 GHz with low loss and low reflection. (3) The power delivered by the transition to top-layer microstrip must be split equally in opposite directions along the microstrip. Referring to the figure, this amounts to a requirement that when power is supplied to input port 1, equal amounts of power flow through output ports 2 and 3. (4) The signal-line via that is necessarily a part of such a transition must not be what is known in the art as a blind via; that is, it must span the entire thickness of the circuit board.

Epp, Larry↗

NASA NTRS2021

An Evaluation of the CAN bus for Use on the Europa Lander Motor Controller

This paper will present the application of the Controller Area Network (CAN) for communication between the Motor Control Processor and the Europa Lander Motor Control Cards. The Europa Lander mission is concerned about lowering the mass, volume, and power so that it can maximize its science return. The motor controller uses multiple Motor Control Cards to control the 24 motors that will be operating in the extremes of the Europa environment. The CAN bus was considered because of its multi-drop nature, low power interface, and simple communication protocol. Beyond communication with the motor controller cards we also use the CAN bus interface to gather telemetry from the Power Conversion Card. Our system requires the collection of telemetry at a rate of 64Hz from the Power Conversion Card and all active motor controllers along with the sending of control packets and the receipt of control parameters at 512 Hz. In the paper we will address the ability of the CAN bus to meet these requirements along with our Arduino based test system used to learn about the CAN bus standard and verify our analysis.

Lias, Malcolm↗

NASA NTRS1991

Extensions to the Parallel Real-Time Artificial Intelligence System (PRAIS) for fault-tolerant heterogeneous cycle-stealing reasoning

Extensions to an architecture for real-time, distributed (parallel) knowledge-based systems called the Parallel Real-time Artificial Intelligence System (PRAIS) are discussed. PRAIS strives for transparently parallelizing production (rule-based) systems, even under real-time constraints. PRAIS accomplished these goals (presented at the first annual C Language Integrated Production System (CLIPS) conference) by incorporating a dynamic task scheduler, operating system extensions for fact handling, and message-passing among multiple copies of CLIPS executing on a virtual blackboard. This distributed knowledge-based system tool uses the portability of CLIPS and common message-passing protocols to operate over a heterogeneous network of processors. Results using the original PRAIS architecture over a network of Sun 3's, Sun 4's and VAX's are presented. Mechanisms using the producer-consumer model to extend the architecture for fault-tolerance and distributed truth maintenance initiation are also discussed.

Goldstein, David↗

NASA NTRS1990

PRAIS: Distributed, real-time knowledge-based systems made easy

This paper discusses an architecture for real-time, distributed (parallel) knowledge-based systems called the Parallel Real-time Artificial Intelligence System (PRAIS). PRAIS strives for transparently parallelizing production (rule-based) systems, even when under real-time constraints. PRAIS accomplishes these goals by incorporating a dynamic task scheduler, operating system extensions for fact handling, and message-passing among multiple copies of CLIPS executing on a virtual blackboard. This distributed knowledge-based system tool uses the portability of CLIPS and common message-passing protocols to operate over a heterogeneous network of processors.

Goldstein, David G.↗

NASA NTRS1999

Ultrasonic Bolt Gage

An ultrasonic bolt gage is described which uses a crosscorrelation algorithm to determine a tension applied to a fastener, such as a bolt. The cross-correlation analysis is preferably performed using a processor operating on a series of captured ultrasonic echo waveforms. The ultrasonic bolt gage is further described as using the captured ultrasonic echo waveforms to perform additional modes of analysis, such as feature recognition. Multiple tension data outputs, therefore, can be obtained from a single data acquisition for increased measurement reliability. In addition, one embodiment of the gage has been described as multi-channel, having a multiplexer for performing a tension analysis on one of a plurality of bolts.

Gleman, Stuart M.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Real-time operating system for selected Intel processors

The rationale for system development is given along with reasons for not using vendor supplied operating systems. Although many system design and performance goals were dictated by problems with vendor supplied systems, other goals surfaced as a result of a design for a custom system able to span multiple projects. System development and management problems and areas that required redesign or major code changes for system implementation are examined as well as the relative successes of the initial projects. A generic description of the actual project is provided and the ongoing support requirements and future plans are discussed.

Pool, W. R.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Microcomputer-based programmable optical signal processor

A microcomputer-based real-time programmable optical signal processing system utilizing a magneto-optic spatial light modulator (MOSLM) and a liquid crystal light valve (LCLV) is described. This system can perform a myriad of complicated optical operations, such as image correlation, image subtraction, and matrix multiplication. Its important asserts are its programmability and the capability of real-time addressing. These are important for telerobotic vision in space automation applications. Design specifications and suggestions for practical implementation of the system are discussed. Some preliminary experimental demonstrations are conducted to demonstrate applications of the proposed system to image correlation for optical pattern recognition, image subtraction for lC chip inspection, and matrix multiplication for optical computing.

Yu, F. T. S.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Solving large sparse eigenvalue problems on supercomputers

An important problem in scientific computing consists in finding a few eigenvalues and corresponding eigenvectors of a very large and sparse matrix. The most popular methods to solve these problems are based on projection techniques on appropriate subspaces. The main attraction of these methods is that they only require the use of the matrix in the form of matrix by vector multiplications. The implementations on supercomputers of two such methods for symmetric matrices, namely Lanczos' method and Davidson's method are compared. Since one of the most important operations in these two methods is the multiplication of vectors by the sparse matrix, methods of performing this operation efficiently are discussed. The advantages and the disadvantages of each method are compared and implementation aspects are discussed. Numerical experiments on a one processor CRAY 2 and CRAY X-MP are reported. Possible parallel implementations are also discussed.

Philippe, Bernard↗

NASA NTRS1987

Imaging radar polarimetry from wave synthesis

A new approach is reported to the measurement of the complete polarization signature of each resolution element in an image implemented with an airborne synthetic aperture radar system. Signals recorded on one data pass from orthogonal linearly polarized antennas are utilized. The signals are combined in a data processor to synthesize any desired combination of transmit and receive polarizations. The technique permits measurement of the complex, multichannel reflectivity of a scene on a single aircraft pass and to late reprocess the data to provide multiple image maps, with each representing the backscattered energy from the scene measured with a different combination of observational transmit and recieve polarizations. The resulting polarization signature measurements indicate optimum polarizations for observations of certain classes of objects and give insight into the identification of dominant scattering mechanisms for each kind of object. The mathematical model for polarization synthesis is summarized, and some theoretical polarization measurements are illustrated for several types of targets. The overall radar system implementation is described in detail. Some analyses of data acquired on three aircraft flights are presented. The technique has been applied to mapping and differentiation of lava flows and to differentiation of forested and clear-cut areas.

Zebker, Howard A.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Particle displacement tracking applied to air flows

Electronic Particle Image Velocimeter (PIV) techniques offer many advantages over conventional photographic PIV methods such as fast turn around times and simplified data reduction. A new all electronic PIV technique was developed which can measure high speed gas velocities. The Particle Displacement Tracking (PDT) technique employs a single cw laser, small seed particles (1 micron), and a single intensified, gated CCD array frame camera to provide a simple and fast method of obtaining two-dimensional velocity vector maps with unambiguous direction determination. Use of a single CCD camera eliminates registration difficulties encountered when multiple cameras are used to obtain velocity magnitude and direction information. An 80386 PC equipped with a large memory buffer frame-grabber board provides all of the data acquisition and data reduction operations. No array processors of other numerical processing hardware are required. Full video resolution (640x480 pixel) is maintained in the acquired images, providing high resolution video frames of the recorded particle images. The time between data acquisition to display of the velocity vector map is less than 40 sec. The new electronic PDT technique is demonstrated on an air nozzle flow with velocities less than 150 m/s.

Wernet, Mark P.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Rainbow net analysis of VAXcluster system availability

A system modeling technique, Rainbow Nets, is used to evaluate the availability and mean-time-to-interrupt of the VAXcluster. These results are compared to the exact analytic results showing that reasonable accuracy is achieved through simulation. The complexity of the Rainbow Net does not increase as the number of processors increases, but remains constant, unlike a Markov model which expands exponentially. The constancy is achieved by using tokens with identity attributes (items) that can have additional attributes associated with them (features) which can exist in multiple states. The time to perform the simulation increases, but this is a polynomial increase rather than exponential. There is no restriction on distributions used for transition firing times, allowing real situations to be modeled more accurately by choosing the distribution which best fits the system performance and eliminating the need for simplifying assumptions.

Johnson, Allen M., Jr.↗

NASA NTRS1990

A distributed agent architecture for real-time knowledge-based systems: Real-time expert systems project, phase 1

We propose a distributed agent architecture (DAA) that can support a variety of paradigms based on both traditional real-time computing and artificial intelligence. DAA consists of distributed agents that are classified into two categories: reactive and cognitive. Reactive agents can be implemented directly in Ada to meet hard real-time requirements and be deployed on on-board embedded processors. A traditional real-time computing methodology under consideration is the rate monotonic theory that can guarantee schedulability based on analytical methods. AI techniques under consideration for reactive agents are approximate or anytime reasoning that can be implemented using Bayesian belief networks as in Guardian. Cognitive agents are traditional expert systems that can be implemented in ART-Ada to meet soft real-time requirements. During the initial design of cognitive agents, it is critical to consider the migration path that would allow initial deployment on ground-based workstations with eventual deployment on on-board processors. ART-Ada technology enables this migration while Lisp-based technologies make it difficult if not impossible. In addition to reactive and cognitive agents, a meta-level agent would be needed to coordinate multiple agents and to provide meta-level control.

Lee, S. Daniel↗

NASA NTRS1991

Particle displacement tracking applied to air flows

Electronic Particle Image Velocimetric (PIV) techniques offer many advantages over conventional photographic PIV methods such as fast turn around times and simplified data reduction. A new all electronic PIV technique was developed which can measure high speed gas velocities. The Particle Displacement Tracking (PDT) technique employs a single CW laser, small seed particles (1 micron), and a single intensified, gated CCD array frame camera to provide a simple and fast method of obtaining two-dimensional velocity vector maps with unambiguous direction determination. Use of a single CCD camera eliminates registration difficulties encountered when multiple cameras are used to obtain velocity magnitude and direction information. An 80386 PC equipped with a large memory buffer frame-grabber board provides all of the data acquisition and data reduction operations. No array processors of other numerical processing hardware are required. Full video resolution (640 x 480 pixel) is maintained in the acquired images, providing high resolution video frames of the recorded particle images. The time between data acquisition to display of the velocity vector map is less than 40 sec. The new electronic PDT technique is demonstrated on an air nozzle flow with velocities less than 150 m/s.

Wernet, Mark P.↗

NASA NTRS2009

Accelerating Climate Simulations Through Hybrid Computing

Unconventional multi-core processors (e.g., IBM Cell B/E and NYIDIDA GPU) have emerged as accelerators in climate simulation. However, climate models typically run on parallel computers with conventional processors (e.g., Intel and AMD) using MPI. Connecting accelerators to this architecture efficiently and easily becomes a critical issue. When using MPI for connection, we identified two challenges: (1) identical MPI implementation is required in both systems, and; (2) existing MPI code must be modified to accommodate the accelerators. In response, we have extended and deployed IBM Dynamic Application Virtualization (DAV) in a hybrid computing prototype system (one blade with two Intel quad-core processors, two IBM QS22 Cell blades, connected with Infiniband), allowing for seamlessly offloading compute-intensive functions to remote, heterogeneous accelerators in a scalable, load-balanced manner. Currently, a climate solar radiation model running with multiple MPI processes has been offloaded to multiple Cell blades with approx.10% network overhead.

Zhou, Shujia↗

NASA NTRS2016

Big Science in Small Packages: a Constellation of Cubesats to Search for Near Earth Asteroids

Astronomers for many decades have been searching for Near Earth Asteroids (NEA) that could potentially impact the Earth in the future. Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), when completed, would be by far the most powerful tool for a ground-based search for NEAs. In space, IR telescopes are undergoing detailed design studies. These facilities are projected to find 90% of potentially hazardous NEAs in about a dozen years. We introduce a different approach to search for these objects by using multiple micro- and nano-spacecraft distributed in orbit around the Sun. Their ability to faint moving objects with small telescopes is based on a new generation of low noise, fast-frame cameras combined with processors that can execute 100’s of gigaflops in a low power space environment.

Shao, Michael↗