Miniaturized and Wireless Optical Neurotransmitter Sensor for Real-Time Monitoring of Dopamine in the Brain
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Min Kim↗
SEARCH · Search NASA
Results for “wireless”
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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Wireless Networks for Solar Uniform Modularity (WiNSUM)
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14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
System and method of wireless power supply
A system and method for sensorless coil detection that exploits a dead-time effect in a WPT inverter as an indicator of presence of a receiver. In one embodiment, a system described herein may be configured to detect arrival of a moving receiver prior to alignment of the moving receiver with the transmitter for power transmission.
Kavimandan, Utkarsh D.↗
Wireless Technologies Cybersecurity Evaluation and Testing Framework for Safety Functions
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Drake, Sheryl Irey [Sandia National Laboratories (↗
Cybersecurity by Design Framework for Wireless Technologies for Safety Functions of Advanced Reactors
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Drake, Sheryl Irey↗
WIRELESSLY COORDINATED OPEN-LOOP COHERENT DISTRIBUTED ANTENNA ARRAYS USING SOFTWARE-DEFINED RADIO
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Engineering - Electronic and electrical engineerin↗
(abstract) Satellite-Enhanced Personal Communications Experiments
As an initial step in exploring the opportunities afforded by the merger of satellite-based and land-based networks, Bellcore and JPL conducted several experiments utilizing NASA's Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS) and JPL's ACTS Mobile Terminal (AMT). Experimental goals fell into three categories: a) demonstrate personal communication applications, b) demonstrate interoperability among multiple wireless networks and the Public Switched Telecommunications Network (PSTN), and c) evaluate new protocol mechanisms for data communications using wireless links. We describe the performance of Point-of-Sale, e-mail, FAX, and call control applications, where the communication path passed through up to four networks: a wireless packet data network, the Satellite network, the PSTN, and a wireless cellular network. One important element of satellite-terrestrial interoperability is the efficiency of data communications protocols. Most protocols in use today (e.g., TCP/IP) have been optimized for wireline channels; their use over wireless networks presents significant new challenges. The characteristics of wireless channels -- increased error, longer packet delay, and limited bandwidth -- affect the design of the protocol. We describe experimental results for differing protocol mechanisms and parameters, such as acknowledgment schemes and packet sizes, that demonstrate the types of protocol needed for efficient use of wireless satellite-terrestrial networks.
personal↗
Antenna Design Considerations for the Advanced Extravehicular Mobility Unit
NASA is designing an Advanced Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AEMU)to support future manned missions beyond low-Earth orbit (LEO). A key component of the AEMU is the communications assembly that allows for the wireless transfer of voice, video, and suit telemetry. The Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) currently used on the International Space Station (ISS) contains a radio system with a single omni-directional resonant cavity antenna operating slightly above 400 MHz capable of transmitting and receiving data at a rate of about 125 kbps. Recent wireless communications architectures are calling for the inclusion of commercial wireless standards such as 802.11 that operate in higher frequency bands at much higher data rates. The current AEMU radio design supports a 400 MHz band for low-rate mission-critical data and a high-rate band based on commercial wireless local area network (WLAN) technology to support video, communication with non-extravehicular activity (EVA) assets such as wireless sensors and robotic assistants, and a redundant path for mission-critical EVA data. This paper recommends the replacement of the existing EMU antenna with a new antenna that maintains the performance characteristics of the current antenna but with lower weight and volume footprints. NASA has funded several firms to develop such an antenna over the past few years, and the most promising designs are variations on the basic patch antenna. This antenna technology at UHF is considered by the authors to be mature and ready for infusion into NASA AEMU technology development programs.
antenna design↗
7-8 GHz Point-to-Point Testing
Wireless spectrum is a limiting resource for continued economic growth in the United States. As discussed in the recent National Spectrum Strategy (NSS), wireless spectrum underpins several aspects of the U.S. economy and the demand for additional spectrum is driving the need for realizing spectrum sharing to enable continued development. At the same time, wireless spectrum is an essential foundation of critical energy infrastructure, including electric, oil, and natural gas resources. In particular, wireless point-to-point (P2P) links are the backbone of vast infrastructure networks that enable the flow of sensor and control information needed to manage critical energy sector infrastructure in the United States. These links will only become more important as the energy sector incorporates more diverse sensing and more efficient control mechanisms, which increases system complexity and data volume requiring more resilient communications. Therefore, the continued economic development of the U.S. depends on determining novel approaches to spectrum management that balance both broad access for advanced wireless technologies and resilience for critical infrastructure.
24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
Postirradiation Examination of WIRE-21 Experiment Irradiated in the High Flux Isotope Reactor
Westinghouse Electric Company is developing wireless sensors to monitor the centerline temperature and internal pressure of commercial light-water reactor fuel rods during irradiation. Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Westinghouse Electric Company developed the Wireless Instrumented RB Experiment 2021 (WIRE-21) to test wireless temperature and pressure sensor technologies in a removable beryllium position in the High Flux Isotope Reactor. The experiment was irradiated for a total of 75 days, at temperatures ranging from approximately 150°C to 400°C, resulting in a peak fast (energy > 0.1 MeV) neutron fluence of about 3 × 10 21 n/cm 2 . The temperature was intentionally cycled multiple times to compare the response of the wireless temperature sensor to collocated thermocouples. Similarly, the pressure sensor was actuated in multiple steps to compare the response of the wireless measurement to excore pressure transducers (Petrie et al., 2023). After irradiation, the experiment was disassembled in the Irradiated Fuels Examination Laboratory (IFEL) hot cell at Oak Ridge National Laboratory with the intent to recover sensor and dosimetry components, document the as-irradiated condition of the hardware, and investigate possible causes of the sensor behavior observed during irradiation. The postirradiation examination successfully recovered and preserved key WIRE-21 components. After the housing was removed using a milling machine, the internal experiment sections were examined. All eight fiber-optic sensors were recovered, cut, and stored. The silicon carbide thermometry, temperature sensor, pressure sensor, lower spacer, and selected pressure and temperature cable sections were also removed and stored. The metal bellows of the pressure sensor was found to be plastically deformed, indicating that it had been properly pressurized during irradiation and generally behaved as expected. X-ray diffraction analysis of a section of one of the irradiated inductor cores within the pressure sensor was performed and confirmed the presence of phase-pure alpha ferrite (i.e., no unexpected phase transformations). Inductance testing was performed on the irradiated pressure sensor cores using an unirradiated test coil, and DC resistance measurements of the transceiver coils were also performed. The measurements with irradiated inductor cores assembled inside unirradiated coils showed slightly reduced inductance compared to measurements made with unirradiated cores, but the difference was not sufficient to explain the more significant reductions in inductance that were observed in-pile. Therefore, it is suspected that degradation of the inductor coils (specifically the wire wrapping) is responsible for the reduced inductance observed in-pile.
46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
A Modular Instrumentation System for NASA's Habitat Demonstration Unit
NASA's human spaceflight program is focused on developing technologies to expand the reaches of human exploration and science activities beyond low earth orbit. A critical aspect of living in space or on planetary surfaces is habitation, which provides a safe and comfortable space in which humans can live and work. NASA is seeking out the best option for habitation by exploring several different concepts through the Habitat Demonstration Unit (HDU) project. The purpose of this HDU is to develop a fully autonomous habitation system that enables human exploration of space. One critical feature of the HDU project that helps to accomplish its mission of autonomy is the instrumentation system that monitors key subsystems operating within a Habitat configuration. The following paper will discuss previous instrumentation systems used in analog habitat concepts and how the current instrumentation system being implemented on the HDU1-PEM, or pressurized excursion module, is building upon the lessons learned of those previous systems. Additionally, this paper will discuss the benefits and the limitations of implementing a wireless sensor network (WSN) as the basis for data transport in the instrumentation system. Finally, this paper will address the experiences and lessons learned with integration, testing prior to deployment, and field testing at the JSC rock yard. NASA is developing the HDU1-PEM as a step towards a fully autonomous habitation system that enables human exploration of space. To accomplish this purpose, the HDU project is focusing on development, integration, testing, and evaluation of habitation systems. The HDU will be used as a technology pull, testbed, and integration environment in which to advance NASA's understanding of alternative mission architectures, requirements, and operations concepts definition and validation. This project is a multi-year effort. In 2010, the HDU1-PEM will be in a pressurized excursion module configuration, and in 2011 the module will be reconfigured for a pressurized core module configuration. Each year the HDU configurations will undergo testing at NASA's Desert Research and Technology Studies (D-RaTS) in Arizona [1]. As part of this project, a modular instrumentation system is developed to meet the monitoring needs of the HDU subsystems and to integrate with the current command and data handling infrastructure that has been developed for the project. The main objective of this study is to provide for the monitoring needs of the HDU. The requirements necessary to meet this objective are developed by working with the subsystem managers of the HDU to understand their monitoring needs. Additionally, the instrumentation system design leverages knowledge and lessons learned from previous studies, such as the inflatable habitat health monitoring system that was deployed in Antarctica [2], the integrated health monitoring system developed for NASA's Microhab [3], and the JSC Lunar Habitat Wireless Testbed to demonstrate a "standardsbased" approach to a wireless instrumentation system [4]. The HDU also requires flexibility in reconfiguration options, and it is necessary to demonstrate and evaluate a modular approach to an instrumentation system. Thus, the instrumentation system is designed in two parts: the primary system employs a standard WSN configuration, and the secondary system employs a wired USB hub. The WSN design provides for reconfiguration or replacement of sensors due to malfunctions or upgrades by using a wireless node that accepts ten instrument inputs and wirelessly transmits the data to the command and data handling system. The USB hub is necessary for those instruments that operate using a wired USB connection, although the design attempts to limit the amount of sensors that need to be wired connections.
Rojdev, Kristina↗
IMAPS Device Packaging Conference 2017 - Engineered Micro Systems & Devices Track
NASA field center Marshall Space Flight Center (Huntsville, AL), has invested in advanced wireless sensor technology development. Developments for a wireless microcontroller back-end were primarily focused on the commercial Synapse Wireless family of devices. These devices have many useful features for NASA applications, good characteristics and the ability to be programmed Over-The-Air (OTA). The effort has focused on two widely used sensor types, mechanical strain gauges and thermal sensors. Mechanical strain gauges are used extensively in NASA structural testing and even on vehicle instrumentation systems. Additionally, thermal monitoring with many types of sensors is extensively used. These thermal sensors include thermocouples of all types, resistive temperature devices (RTDs), diodes and other thermal sensor types. The wireless thermal board will accommodate all of these types of sensor inputs to an analog front end. The analog front end on each of the sensors interfaces to the Synapse wireless microcontroller, based on the Atmel Atmega128 device. Once the analog sensor output data is digitized by the onboard analog to digital converter (A/D), the data is available for analysis, computation or transmission. Various hardware features allow custom embedded software to manage battery power to enhance battery life. This technology development fits nicely into using numerous additional sensor front ends, including some of the low-cost printed circuit board capacitive moisture content sensors currently being developed at Auburn University.
Varnavas, Kosta↗
Internal Radio-Frequency Instrumentation System (IRIS) Overview
Wireless instrumentation has long been sought for spaceflight applications, but practical implementations capable of providing the utility of wired sensors have proven elusive. The power needed to drive transmitters/receivers in traditional "active" wireless sensor radios requires either frequent battery replacement or prohibitive duty cycling. This prevents installing such sensors early in a vehicle's integration and treating them as always-on throughout its operation. "Passive" solutions such as radio frequency identification (RFID) techniques provide an appealing alternative, though most common RFID sensing approaches such as surface acoustic wave (SAW) RFID do not lend themselves easily to integrating arbitrary suites of sensors and sensor processors. In this talk we detail the design, fabrication, and evaluation of the Internal Radio-frequency Instrumentation System (IRIS), an RFID-enabled instrumentation solution that integrates an EPC Global Class 1 Generation 2 interface with processor-based wireless sensors. IRIS thermocouple sensors can operate in a low-power hibernation state with instantaneous over-the-air wakeup for nearly a decade on a small (255 mAh) coin cell battery. In their active state, they can acquire and stream 10 Hz data for more than 200 days. This allows wireless sensors to be installed and powered on early in vehicle integration and continue to operate after launch through a lengthy mission, opening the vehicle design trade space to wireless sensing in a meaningful and unprecedented way.
Wagner, Raymond↗
SOAREX-8 Suborbital Experiments 2015 - A New Paradigm for Small Spacecraft Communication
In 2015 NASA plans to launch a payload to 280 Km altitude on a sounding rocket from the Wallops Flight Facility. This payload will contain several novel technologies that work together to demonstrate methodologies for space sample return missions and for nanosatellite communications in general. The payload will deploy and test an Exo-Brake, which slows the payload aerodynamically, providing eventual de-orbit and recovery of future ISS samples through a Small Payload Quick Return project. In addition, this flight addresses future Mars mission entry technology, space-to-space communications using the Iridium Short Messaging Service (SMS), GPS tracking, and wireless sensors using the ZigBee protocol. SOAREX-8 is being assembled and tested at Ames Research Center (ARC) and the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) is funding sensor and communications work. Open source Arduino technology and software are used for system control. The ZigBee modules used are XBee units that connect analog sensors for temperature, air pressure and acceleration measurement wirelessly to the payload telemetry system. Our team is developing methods for power distribution and module mounting, along with software for sensor integration, data assembly and downlink. We have demonstrated relaying telemetry to the ground using the Iridium satellite constellation on a previous flight, but the upcoming flight will be the first time we integrate useful flight test data from a ZigBee wireless sensor network. Wireless sensor data will measure the aerodynamic efficacy of the Exo-Brake permitting further on orbit flight tests of improved designs. The Exo-Brake is 5 sq m in area and will be stored in a container and deployed during ascent once the payload is jettisoned from the launch vehicle. We intend to further refine the hardware and continue testing on balloon launches, future sounding rocket flights and on nanosatellite missions. The use of standards-based and open source hardware/software has allowed for this project to be completed with a very modest budget and a challenging schedule. There is a wealth of hardware and software available for both the Arduino platform and the XBee, all low-cost or open-source. Along with the Exo-Brake hardware and deployment discussion, this paper will describe in detail the system architecture emphasizing the successful use of open source hardware and software to minimize effort and cost. Testing procedures, radio frequency interference (RFI) mitigation, success criteria and expected results will also be discussed. The use of Iridium short messaging capability for space-to-space links, standards-based wireless sensor networks, and other innovative communications technology are also presented.
aerobrake↗
TPSAS-NF1676L-11812-DND
Reducing the weight of spacecraft will reduce the fabrication costs and the launch costs . The elimination of wiring and wiring harnesses reduces the total mass of the vehicle . Wireless sensor technology can reduce the weight and therefore the costs of spacecraft . The Decadal Survey of Civil Aeronautics survey identified that "self-powered, wireless microelectromechanical sensors" warrant attention over the next decade . Current wireless sensor systems have low data rates and require batteries. The environment of aerospace vehicles is often very harsh, with temperature extremes ranging from cryogenic to very high temperatures during re-entry. For example, X-37B mini unmanned shuttle will require high temperature sensors mounted on the structure, as well as cryogenic sensors for monitoring fuel tanks. Batteries do not work well in either temperature extremes. Also, sensors are typically located in internal structures with limited access, making the periodic changing of batteries costly and time consuming. Passive wireless sensors are needed that operate across an extremely large temperature range and do not require batteries. NASA recently instrumented an all Composite Crew Module for structural testing on the ground. Wireless sensors could have reduced the time to instrument the module and check out the sensor wiring.
W (Cy) Wilson↗
Near-field passive sensor for the monitoring of high-temperature oxidative corrosion of metals
This study reports on the development and testing of a passive wireless device designed to track temperature and corrosion behavior in SS304H stainless steel under elevated temperatures. The ANSYS HFSS software was utilized to model and optimize the design of an inductor-capacitor (LC) resonator passive wireless sensors fabricated using platinum designs printed onto an aluminum oxide support operating at frequencies between (50–190 MHz). The optimal LC wireless sensor designs were then fabricated using screen-printing and sintering methods. Here, the sensors were tested by placing the sensor onto polished SS304H flat substrates and heated to 900–1050 °C in air. Wireless acquisition of sensor data during heating, cooling, and isothermal stages was achieved through a Pt loop antenna connected to an RF signal generator and a network analyzer.
20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗
Wi-Fi Signal Survey of the International Space Station by Autonomous Free-Flying Robot
This paper analyzes Wi-Fi signal propagation inside pressurized modules of the International Space Station (ISS). Various flight datasets were collected by the Astrobee fleet of autonomous free-flying robots developed by the NASA Ames Research Center (ARC). The enclosed module spaces of the ISS pose unique challenges for Wi-Fi signal propagation, and understanding these challenges is crucial for optimizing connectivity in such environments. The survey data presented are valuable for optimizing wireless access point (WAP) locations and conditions. A computational method is developed to analyze the wireless communication system, RF coverage, and module compositions. The method is both rigorous and practical for assessing the ISS wireless system performance. The computational tools in this paper serve as a complementary approach to direct, on-orbit measurements, which is a complicated and expensive task. In some operational scenarios, ground measurements may be intractable due to the size of the spacecraft. Results from this research will aid future space missions and commercial spacecraft, providing insights into optimal WAP placements and robust wireless communication systems.
Astrobee↗
Wi-Fi Signal Survey of the International Space Station by Autonomous Free-Flying Robot
This paper analyzes Wi-Fi signal propagation inside pressurized modules of the International Space Station (ISS). Various flight datasets were collected by the Astrobee fleet of autonomous free-flying robots developed by the NASA Ames Research Center (ARC). The enclosed module spaces of the ISS pose unique challenges for Wi-Fi signal propagation, and understanding these challenges is crucial for optimizing connectivity in such environments. The survey data presented are valuable for optimizing wireless access point (WAP) locations and conditions. A computational method is developed to analyze the wireless communication system, RF coverage, and module compositions. The method is both rigorous and practical for assessing the ISS wireless system performance. The computational tools in this paper serve as a complementary approach to direct, on-orbit measurements, which is a complicated and expensive task. In some operational scenarios, ground measurements may be intractable due to the size of the spacecraft. Results from this research will aid future space missions and commercial spacecraft, providing insights into optimal WAP placements and robust wireless communication systems.
International Space Station↗